FUNNY ENGLISH STORIES 2

Police in Iraq say two suicide bomb attacks in Baghdad have killed fourteen people and wounded twenty others.. Witnesses and officials say the first attacker exploded his bomb near an of[r]

Report 1.

Voters in the northeastern American state of

Pennsylvania have voted in an important presidential

primary contest Experts say Senator Hillary Clinton must win to stay in the race She is expected to win However, she needs to win by a large number of votes if she is to

narrow the lead of her opponent, Senator Barack

Obama He is ahead in the popular vote and in the number

of the nominating delegates Ms Clinton says a victory in Pennsylvania along with her wins in California and New

York will prove that Mr Obama cannot win in states with large numbers of delegates Mr Obama said that he does not expect to win Pennsylvania But, he believes he has already cut into her once large lead.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is warning that climate change is making the food crisis worse He said this threatens political security Mr Annan spoke Tuesday in Geneva for the Global Humanitarian Forum, a new group that examines the effects of climate change The former U.N secretary general predicted more food strikes and

demonstrations Severe and unpredictable weather he says has hurt the ability of many areas to grow crops He said poorer farmers are the most effected Mr Annan said

countries that produce the most pollution should help

poorer farmers deal with climate change The United

Nations food agency says rising food prices threaten more than one hundred million additional people around the

world The head of the world food program, Josette

Sheeran, said the additional one hundred million people facing hunger within the past six months She says a major and long-lasting action is needed to prevent a crisis Such action she said should be like the emergency effort after a

huge wave in the Indian Ocean destroyed many coastal

communities in two thousand four.

Hundreds of people, angry about the rising cost of food, have demonstrated in eastern Afghanistan The protesters blocked a main road between the town of Jalalabad and the capital, Kabul They demanded the government quickly act

to decrease food prices Earlier, the Afghan government announced it is putting aside fifty million dollars to buy

wheat from other countries Many protesters expressed anger at Pakistan for slowing, restricting its food

exports Pakistan did so because of its own worries over rising food prices.

Countries near Iraq and other nations say they support efforts by the Iraqi government to increase security and expand the political process The statement came at the close of talks in Kuwait The statement also expressed

support for Iraq's national unity, territorial claims and the right to freely decide its political future Delegates at the talks also praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for taking steps against militias loyal to clergyman Muqtada al- Sadr American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Iraq on its progress She said Iraq needs the support of its neighbors and countries around the world to succeed.

A bomb explosion has killed one Iraqi soldier and

wounded four others in the northern city of Mosul The

bomb was attached to a vehicle that Iraqi soldiers were

inspecting Earlier, a suicide bomber killed six people in an attack near a police station in Diyala province Twelve

others were wounded Most of the victims were

policemen And, the United States military says two other bombs killed two American marines near the western city of Ramadi.

The Chinese government says a ship carrying weapons meant for Zimbabwe may be returning to China The ship has been waiting in the waters near the coast of southern Africa It was permitted to enter the South African port of Durban last week But, workers there refused to unload the

weapons Officials in Mozambique have also turned away the ship A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says the contract for the weapons was signed last year as part of normal military trade She said the shipment is not

connected to Zimbabwe's political crisis.

China and France are working to ease tensions Their relations worsened after pro-Tibet activists demonstrated during the running of the Olympic torch in Paris earlier this month Since then, some Chinese citizens have boycotted French goods and companies Chinese officials on Tuesday praised how the French company Carrefour does business

in China The officials also thanked the company for

supporting the Olympic games in Beijing.

Sudan has begun a count and study of its population for the first time in fifteen years The census is part of a peace agreement that ended the country's twenty-one year civil war The Sudanese government and the United Nations are paying for the census It will help show how wealth and power is divided in the country It will also set up voting areas before Sudanese elections are held next year They will be the first democratic elections in the country in

twenty-three years.

President Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have ended a two- day meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana President Bush said the three countries have each gained from the North

American Free Trade Agreement He said now is not the time to renegotiate the agreement President Calderon

agreed with Mr Bush's comments saying this is a time to make the agreement stronger, not change or cancel

it Prime Minister Harper had similar comments Critics of NAFTA, including both Democratic party presidential

candidates, say the United States has lost manufacturing jobs because of the agreement.

Briefly, here again is the major news of the hour.

Voters in the northeastern American state of

Pennsylvania have voted in an important presidential

primary contest Hundreds of people angry about the rising cost of food have demonstrated in eastern

Afghanistan And, countries near Iraq say they support

efforts by the Iraqi government to increase security and expand the political process.

Report 2.

The main opposition party in Zimbabwe is claiming

victory in general elections But, election officials say the main opposition and the ruling party are tied The latest result show the ruling party ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change each won twenty-six

seats in parliament Two hundred ten seats were to be

decided in the vote Saturday The MDC disputes the

results It says its own count shows the party winning seats

in ninety-six of one hundred twenty-eight parliamentary areas where results have been announced The MDC also says its founder, Morgan Tsvangirai, is leading President Robert Mugabe sixty to thirty percent No official results from the presidential election have been announced.

American Defense Secretary Robert Gates says recent violence in southern Iraq has not changed American plans

to withdraw some troops from Iraq The troops are

expected to leave over the next few months Mr Gates

spoke in Denmark He praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's recent efforts against Shiite militias in the southern city of Basra Iraqi and coalition forces in Basra and

al-Baghdad fought street battles over the past six days with militants loyal to extremist Shiite Moqtada al-Sadr About four hundred people were killed in the fighting.

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging Israel to stop building more homes on disputed land She says Israel's continued expansion of settlements violates the peace plan known as "the Road Map" Secretary Rice is

in Jordan for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud

Abbas Mr Abbas says he expects a peace agreement with Israel by the end of this year On Sunday, Ms Rice

persuaded Israeli and Palestinian officials to ease

restrictions on Palestinians living in the occupied West

Bank.

President Bush has arrived in Kiev, Ukraine, the first stop

on his European trip The President will attend a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Romania He is expected to urge NATO member countries to open

membership to Ukraine and Georgia But, Russia has said it does not want NATO expanding to its borders NATO

leaders are also expected to offer membership to Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.

The constitutional court in Turkey says it will consider banning the ruling Justice and Development Party The chief prosecutor has accused the party of violating the country's tradition of separating the government from religion He also believes that many members of the party should be banned from politics for five years The Justice and

Development Party denies violating the separation between the government and religion The party has called the case anti-democratic.

A leading international conflict resolution organization is urging East Timor to do more to settle one hundred

thousand people displaced by unrest in two thousand

six The International Crisis Group says the country's

displaced population shows that the deeper causes of the conflict two years ago remain unresolved The new ICG

report says displaced East Timorese remain in camps

because they fear new violence or they have no home to return to Others are unable to reclaim their homes and

depend on the free rice that the camps provide.

The French Justice Ministry has announced the release from jail of all six French aid workers found guilty of

attempted kidnapping in Chad last year The ministry said they were freed just hours after Chadian President Idriss Deby pardoned them The six were tried in a Chadian court last year and sentenced to eight years in prison Chad

agreed in December to let them serve their sentences in

France The aid workers were arrested in Chad while

preparing to take one hundred three African children to France They said the children had lost their parents and could be placed with European families An investigation found that most of the children were Chadian and had at least one parent or guardian still living.

A new study by the United States Department of

Agriculture says American farmers will plant less corn this season though prices are at record highs The USDA says the amount of land planted with corn will drop by about eight percent, in part because the price of fertilizer has sharply increased This has hurt farmers' profits The

amount of American land planted in soy beans is expected

to increase by eighteen percent this season.

And now briefly, here again is the major news of the

hour.

The main opposition party in Zimbabwe is claiming

victory in general elections But, election officials say the main opposition and the ruling party are tied American Defense Secretary Robert Gates says recent violence in southern Iraq has not changed American plans to withdraw some troops from Iraq And, American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging Israel to stop building more

homes on disputed land.

Report 3.

The newly-elected prime minister of Pakistan has freed all judges detained under emergency rule last year Yousaf Raza Gilani gave the order just minutes after he was

elected by parliament He also promised a resolution calling for a United Nations investigation into the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto He is a member of her

Pakistan Peoples Party In Washington, the Bush

administration congratulated Mr Gilani and the Pakistani people for moving quickly to form a new government.

American commanders in Baghdad say Iran is continuing

to provide money, weapons and training to Shiite rebels in Iraq A spokesman says it has been confirmed that Shiite extremist groups carried out rocket attacks Sunday on

Iraq's secure green area He said the weapons used in the attack were supplied by Iran The spokesman said coalition forces are working to stop the groups Earlier, American General David Petraeus told British radio the attacks show Iranian operatives continue to pay for, to train and to

supply and direct Iraq's rebels.

Israel says it may soon ease restrictions on some

Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank Israeli

Defense Minister Ehud Barak says the government is

considering the removal of roadblocks He said it is also considering other actions to permit more free movement for Palestinian business people and officials Israeli officials also said that any agreement between the opposing groups Fatah and Hamas would mean an end to peace talks

between Palestinians and Israel Leaders of the two

Palestinian groups met in Yemen Sunday They signed an agreement to continue talking with each other.

The Lebanese parliament again has delayed its meeting

to elect a new president Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri says the new election will take place April twenty-

second This is the seventeenth time the election has been postponed since September Political leaders from the

governing coalition and the opposition cannot agree about power-sharing in the future government The two sides

have agreed on the election of army commander General Michel Suleiman as president, but they differ on other ideas about the new government The governing coalition also has rejected the opposition's demand for veto power on government decisions.

Cambodian officials are traveling to the United Nations to request one hundred fourteen million dollars more to

continue legal action against former Khmer Rouge

leaders Three representatives of Cambodia's genocide

court left Phnom Penh for New York They will meet at the U.N on Thursday The U.N.-supported court first asked for fifty-six million dollars over three years The court now says

it needs one hundred seventy million to continue operating through two thousand eleven The first public trials of five former Khmer Rouge leaders are expected later this

year The Khmer Rouge killed nearly two million people in Cambodia thirty years ago in an effort to create a classless nation.

The United Nations World Food Program says it may be forced to cut the amount of food it provides because of

rising food and fuel prices W.F.P officials say the U.N

agency needs donor countries to provide five hundred

million dollars in the next four weeks The World Food

Program feeds about seventy-three million people in

seventy-eight countries It feeds three million people a day

in Sudan's Darfur area alone.

Finally this news, President and Ms Bush have led a

yearly children's holiday celebration in

Washington Administration officials say fifteen thousand eggs were provided this year for the White House Easter

egg roll Appearing at the celebration were children's book writers, the music group the Jonas Brothers and people dressed as children's characters such as Mickey Mouse The White House Easter egg roll began in eighteen seventy-

eight during the presidency of Rutherford Hayes Children take part in an egg-rolling race across the White House grounds the day following the Easter holiday.

Briefly, here again is the major news of the hour in

Special English.

The newly-elected prime minister of Pakistan has freed all judges detained under emergency rule last

year American commanders in Baghdad say Iran is

continuing to provide money, weapons and training to

Shiite rebels in Iraq And, Israel says it may soon ease

restrictions on some Palestinians living in the occupied

West Bank.

wounded Northeast of the capital in Muqdadiya, a suicide bomber killed two people and wounded more than twenty others And in Diyala province, a suicide bomber attacked the home of a tribal leader The tribal leader and three

other people were killed in the attack in Kanaan.

An unofficial truce is in effect in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Palestinian militants have stopped rocket

attacks against Israel Israeli army radio says Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert halted Israeli air attacks on

Gaza Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Israel and Hamas have agreed generally to the cease-fire But, Mr Olmert denies any negotiations have taken place A Hamas spokesman says rocket attacks could be stopped forever if Israel would reopen border crossings between Gaza and Israel and Gaza and Egypt At least, one hundred twenty Palestinians were killed in a recent Israeli military offensive

in the area Israel says the action was aimed at halting

Palestinian rocket attacks.

The Indian government has moved to stop a march by Tibetan exiles to their homeland The march was part of protests organized before the Olympic games in Beijing It was also the forty-ninth anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet Police stopped more than one

hundred men and women marchers fifteen kilometers from

Dharmsala in northern India The town is home to the

Tibetan government in exile and the Buddhist spiritual

leader the Dalai Lama The marchers had begun a six-month trip to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa A local police chief said the march violates an agreement between India's

government and the Tibetan government in exile They had agreed to permit no anti-China political activities in

India Neither the Dalai Lama nor the Tibetan government

in exile has supported the march.

Oil prices have increased to a record high of more than one hundred seven dollars a barrel Bloomberg News

Agency reports that oil prices have increased

seventy-seven percent in the past year The price per barrel has moved higher several times in the past two weeks Oil is priced internationally in dollars and gains as the dollar falls

in value The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced last week it will hold oil production as it is

instead of increasing it as requested by the United States President Bush says the United States will help make the Polish military more modern In return, the United States will be able to put parts of a new missile defense system in Poland Mr Bush announced the plan after talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Washington He said experts will study Poland's needs and develop a plan before his

term is over next year Poland says its military needs to improve because Russia has threatened to aim nuclear

weapons at Poland if the American anti-missile system is deployed.

Health workers in the western Afghan city of Herat are refusing to work as a way to demand better security and an end to kidnappings A spokesman for the striking workers said hospital doctors are treating only emergencies and stores will be closed this week as part of the strike Doctor Abdul Zahir Miyazi said the striking workers are protesting

a series of kidnappings across the city He said in the past few days nine people have been kidnapped in Herat

including the sons of doctors, judges and jewelry sellers It

is not clear who is responsible for the kidnappings.

Serbia's government has officially asked the president to dismiss parliament and call for early elections, probably to

be held in May President Boris Tadic is expected to

announce the action within days The cabinet announced its agreement after a short meeting Monday Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said Saturday the government could not continue to operate because of deep divisions following Kosovo's declaration of independence in February.

United States Senator Barack Obama has dismissed the idea of being the Democratic party candidate for vice-

president Mr Obama is competing against Senator Hillary Clinton for their party's presidential nomination He said during a campaign stop in the Southern state of Mississippi that he is not interested in being second The Illinois

Senator said he received more votes and delegates than

Ms Clinton He said he does not know how someone in

second place is offering the vice-presidency to someone in first place Mississippi's primary election is Tuesday.

New York state Governor Eliot Spitzer has publicly

apologized after a New York Times newspaper story linked him to women who perform sexual acts for money He

admitted violating responsibilities to his family and any sense of right and wrong The newspaper said on its

website that federal officials recorded Governor Spitzer

making plans to meet a woman at a hotel in Washington, D.C The newspaper said the recording was made last

month during an investigation of a prostitution

operation Earlier, Mr Spitzer had served as New York state attorney general He was known as "Mr Clean" for his

efforts against corruption in the state, including at least two prostitution groups.

And now briefly, here again is the major news of the

hour.

Several suicide bomb attacks are reported in Iraq, killing

at least thirteen people An unofficial cease-fire is in effect

in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip The Indian government has moved to stop a march by Tibetan exiles to their

homeland And, oil prices have increased to a record high of more than one hundred seven dollars a barrel.

Report 5.

The United Nations Security Council has voted to approve

a new resolution against Iran for its refusal to stop

enriching uranium Fourteen of the council's fifteen

members voted for the resolution Indonesia did not

vote Indonesia's U.N ambassador says his nation is not sure more restrictions would help the situation The

resolution strengthens existing restrictions on trade and on the travel and property of people involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs The restrictions were declared

because of concerns that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

Israeli forces withdrew from northern Gaza early

Monday But, Israeli air attacks and Palestinian rocket fire continued after the troop withdrawal More than one

hundred Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed during Israel's five-day offensive in Gaza Israeli Prime

Minister Ehud Olmert promised to seek more military action

in Gaza But, Hamas said the Israeli withdrawal is a victory for the Palestinians Palestinian Authority President

Mahmoud Abbas suspended peace talks with Israel to

protest the offensive.

Officials in Washington have confirmed that the American military has launched two missiles at terrorist targets in southern Somalia A Defense Department pokesman told reporters the attack in the town of Dobley was aimed at known al-Qaeda terrorists He said the United States will continue to target terrorists and their operations wherever the military may find them In Dobley, witnesses said at least two missiles destroyed a house and injured several

people They said extremist Islamist religious leader Hassan Turki was in town on Sunday to meet with other militants Colombian police say they have found documents

showing that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez paid three hundred million dollars in support of Colombian

rebels Colombia's national police chief said the documents were on three computers found after the attacks Saturday

on a rebel base in Ecuador Oscar Naranjo said the

documents include a letter from a top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Commander Raul Reyes was one of seventeen rebels killed during the

attack Mr Naranjo said the documents also show the

group's efforts to get fifty kilograms of uranium He said this shows the rebels' desire to be involved in international terrorism.

At least, two bombs have exploded in the Iraqi capital At least fifteen people were killed when a bomb exploded in the center of Baghdad More than forty others were

injured Iraqi security officials said a second bomb exploded near an Iraqi army security position in eastern

Baghdad That attack by a suicide bomber killed at least two police officers and wounded five others The United States military said Iraqi soldiers guarding the position

probably saved the lives of other people The military

blamed the attacks on Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda forces in Iraq.

United Nations officials in Nepal have confirmed that U.N workers were among those killed in a helicopter crash A spokesman says seven U.N workers and three crew

members were on the aircraft that went down in an eastern district Police said ten bodies were pulled from the

wreckage The cause of the crash was not immediately

known.

The top United States military officer has arrived in

Pakistan Admiral Mike Mullen is expected to discuss

military cooperation with Pakistani President Pervez

Musharraf and military leaders The United States plans to

send twenty-two members of the military to Pakistan this year to train Pakistani security forces An American

embassy spokeswoman in Islamabad says the Americans will arrive in Pakistan between June and October They will train Pakistani officers in methods to fight against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants near the Afghan border.

The Defense Department has expressed concern about China's increasing military power, saying it threatens

security in Asia A new department report says the

international community has limited knowledge of China's military changes It says this lack of information about

China's military and security operations increases the

chance for misunderstanding The report also says China's military modernization is aimed at the Taiwan Strait.

Human Rights Watch has called on China's National

Peoples' Congress to approve human rights legislation and policy reform Congress's yearly meetings begin March

fifth The American-based rights organization made the

request in a letter to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao It urges

Mr Wen to act on his promises of supporting social justice and building the rule of law Human Rights Watch is urging China to carry out reform on ten issues, including civil and political rights China promised to improve its rights

situation before the Olympic games take place in Beijing later this year.

Briefly, here again is the major news.

The United Nations Security Council has voted to approve

a new resolution against Iran for its refusal to stop

enriching uranium Officials in Washington have confirmed that the American military has launched two missiles at terrorist targets in southern Somalia And, Colombian police say they have evidence that Venezuelan President Chavez paid three hundred million dollars in support of Colombian rebels.

Report 6.

Serbia's prime minister says his government will

continue to rule parts of Kosovo where citizens want to remain under Serbian rule Vojislav Kostunica said Serbia will do everything it can for what he called loyal citizens in Kosovo He especially named ethnic Serbs and non-

Albanians The Prime Minister also said Serbia will not have relations with countries that have recognized Kosovo until they change their decision He spoke during a visit by

Russian presidential candidate Dmitry Medvedev in

Belgrade Mr Medvedev said there will be no change in Russia's support for Serbia's rule over Kosovo.

Iraqi officials say at least sixty-three people have been killed in two days of attacks against Shiite

Muslims Officials said the victims were traveling to Karbala for Arbaeen, one of Shiite Islam's holiest gatherings At least, four Shiites were killed in a bomb attack in southern Baghdad Fifteen others were reported wounded On

Sunday, a bomber killed at least fifty-six Shiites who had stopped to rest in Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad The

United States military blamed al-Qaeda in Iraq supporters for that attack.

The Turkish military says it has killed one hundred three Kurdish rebels since launching attacks in northern Iraq last week The military annonced that forty-one rebels were killed in recent clashes It said another one hundred twelve died in earlier attacks The military also said

fifty-seventeen of its soldiers died in the offensive Rebel

reports have not confirmed the numbers.

Scientists in the United States say a third powerful

earthquake has hit near the southwest coast of Indonesia's

Sumatra Island within the past twenty-four hours The

United States Geological Survey said the latest earthquake measured almost seven It struck one hundred fifty

kilometers from Padang, about thirty-five kilometers below ground Two earthquakes struck nearby on Monday No

damage or injuries were reported from any of the

earthquakes.

The United States has declared new restrictions on

businesses and individuals linked to military leaders in

Burma The Treasury Department said the restrictions ban American citizens from doing business with the Burmese company Asia World Company Limited They also affect two groups of hotels owned by Burmese businessman Tay

Za The United States considers him guilty of selling

weapons and financially supporting Burma's repressive

rulers A top Treasury official said the restrictions will

continue until Burma's government stops violently

oppressing its people A statement from President Bush expressed concern about the Burmese government's refusal

to talk with the opposition and ethnic minority groups.

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra has arrived in

North Korea for a historic musical performance Lorin

Maazel is the group's musical director He told reporters in Pyongyang that he hopes the trip will improve ties between the United States and North Korea He said the

Philharmonic hopes its music will move those who listen and bring the countries closer The orchestra's performance

on Tuesday will be broadcast internationally on North

Korean television and radio The orchestra performance will include Antonin Dvorak's "Symphony Number Nine" and George Gershwin's "An American in Paris".

A suicide bomber in the northern Pakistani city of

Rawalpindi has killed at least eight people, including the nation's top military medical officer A spokesman said the bomber killed himself and wounded many others after

Lieutenant General Mushtaq Baig's car stopped The

spokesman blamed militants linked to al-Qaeda and the

Taliban for the attack Also in Pakistan, at least three

soldiers were killed when a bomb exploded near an army vehicle in southwestern Baluchistan province A group

called the Baluchistan Republic Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

The American Internet company YouTube says a

Pakistani ban on the video-sharing website caused

worldwide interference in its service Sunday Pakistan

ordered local Internet service providers to block YouTube

on Friday because it contained videos considered insulting

to Islam The company says its site was interfered with

internationally for two hours on Sunday when a Pakistani company began blocking the website Internet experts say the Pakistani company meant to block the website only in Pakistan But, the blockage instead affected the whole

world.

Finally, this news: an Austrian man diving off the coast of the southern united states of Florida has died after being bitten by a shark The man was attacked on Sunday about eighty kilometers east of the city of Fort Lauderdale, near the waters of the Bahamas He was part of a group of

divers who used bloody meat to get sharks to come close to him Newspaper reports say the Bahamas Diving

Association warned the group that organized the dive that

it was a dangerous thing to do.

Report 7.

The United Nations Security Council has met about

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia Serbian leaders called the act illegal After the meeting, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all sides to remain calm He said the UN will continue to supervise the province to

secure peace The UN Security Council will meet again on the issue on Monday European Union foreign ministers will meet on Monday in Brussels to discuss the situation in

Kosovo Many, but not all, EU countries are expected to

recognize the new nation.

Citizens in Pakistan are preparing to vote in general

elections They will decide the members of Pakistan's

national assembly and provincial assemblies Security has been increased for the elections About four hundred

thousand people and eighty thousand soldiers are deployed across the country Early results are expected Monday The election committee is to announce final results

Wednesday On Sunday, American Senator Joseph Biden said the United States should cut military aid to Pakistan if the elections are not free and fair The senator is in

Pakistan to observe the voting He urged Pakistani officials

to make sure no election cheating takes place.

Afghan security officials say a suicide bomb attack near the southern city of Kandahar killed at least eighty people, including some fighters opposed to the Taliban Governor Asadullah Khalid said many others were wounded when the bomb exploded at a dog fighting competition in

Arghandab He blamed the Taliban but no one has claimed responsibility An Interior Ministry spokesman condemned the bombing and said police are investigating He said the

attack shows that those responsible are opposed to the Afghan people Officials say the attack seemed to be aimed

at local police chief Abdul Hakim Jan He was killed in the explosion Witnesses say some of the commander's forces fired at the crowd after the explosion They killed an

unknown number of people.

Israeli forces have raided the southern part of the Gaza Strip Three Palestinian gunmen and one civilian were

killed At least, eight Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were also wounded Israeli troops detained at least twenty- five Palestinians Israel says the military acted to stop

Palestinian rocket attacks Israeli Prime Minister Ehud

Olmert also says his government will continue to reduce power and fuel supplies to Gaza until such attacks

end Earlier, Palestinian officials said President Makmud Abbas has agreed to meet with Mr Olmert Tuesday in

Jerusalem Israel has not confirmed the date.

China says it is concerned that United States plans to shoot down a broken spy satellite could damage the

security situation in space A Chinese Foreign Ministry

spokesman said his government is closely watching the situation and may take what he called preventive

measures He urged the Bush administration to honor its international responsibilities and not damage security in space and in other countries Russia also has expressed concern about the military plans to destroy the satellite with a missile The Russian Defense Ministry has said the United States military could use the operation as a way to secretly test a new space weapon American officials say the plan is meant to stop the satellite from leaking

poisonous fuel as it reenters the Earth's atmosphere next month.

The crew of the American space shuttle Atlantis is

preparing to leave the international space station The

astronaut groups said final words to each other and closed the entrances between the two spacecrafts Atlantis will separate from the space station early Monday and return to

Earth on Wednesday The Atlantis astronauts completed three space walks during their visit to the space station President Bush is continuing his visit to Tanzania for a second day He and his wife Laura are expected to visit a hospital, a girls' school and a clothing factory Earlier, Mr Bush met with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete in Dar

es Salaam They signed economic growth measures worth about seven hundred million dollars for the East African nation.

In the United States, it is no longer legal for the

government to listen to communications of suspected

terrorists without court orders The legislation permitting such action expired Saturday night after the House of

Representatives failed to approve a bill making it

permanent The Director of National Intelligence says that failure puts the country in increased danger He said

intelligence agencies cannot force private

telecommunications companies to help with the program because they are not guaranteed protection President

Bush also criticized lawmakers for not approving the

law He said intelligence agencies will have increased

difficulty following the activities of suspected

terrorists Democrats said Mr Bush was trying to create false fears.

American officials have declared unsafe more than one hundred forty million pounds of beef produced by a

company accused of violating food safety laws Reports say

it is the largest food recall in United States history The United States Department of Agriculture announced the recall of frozen beef produced in the past two years by the Westland/Hallmark meat company Federal officials

suspended operations there last week after an

investigation found that sick animals were being killed for their meat.

And now briefly, here again is the major news of the

hour.

The United Nations Security Council has met about

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia The

people of Pakistan are preparing to vote in general

elections And, Afghan security officials say a suicide bomb attack near the southern city of Kandahar has killed at least eighty people.

Report 8.

The United States government has announced murder and war crimes charges against six suspects in the terrorist attacks of September eleventh, two thousand and one A military lawyer said officials want the suspects tried

together and are seeking the death penalty for all six A military judge will study the evidence and decide whether

to move forward with the trial The suspects include the reported leader of the attack plot, Khalid Sheikh

Mohammed They are being held at the United States

military jail in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba They would be tried under the United States military justice system.

The United States has arrested a Defense Department official on charges of spying for China The Justice

Department says Gregg William Bergersen was arrested near Washington, D.C Officials say he passed secret

government information to an American citizen born in

China That person, Tai Shen Kuo, was arrested in New

Orleans Kuo and another person arrested in New Orleans are charged with planning to pass national defense

information to a foreign government The third suspect is

Yu Xin Kang, a Chinese citizen who lives in the United

States In a separate case, officials announced the arrest of

a former engineer for the Boeing company Dongfan "Greg" Chung reportedly passed to China stolen trade secrets

about the space shuttle, military aircraft and a rocket.

Two bomb attacks have killed at least nineteen people in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad About forty others were

wounded in the explosions The bombs exploded at almost the same time near a building where Sunni tribal chiefs

opposed to al-Qaeda were meeting Also in Iraq, officials say electric power has been cut in much of the north after two explosions hit the country's energy equipment One explosion damaged a natural gas pipe that serves power stations in northern Iraq And, a bomb damaged a power station in the northern city of Mosul on Sunday The

bombings came as United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates completed a two-day visit to Iraq.

The American television station Cbs says two of its

reporters have gone missing in the southern Iraqi city of Basra A network statement said efforts are being made to find the reporters Their names were not released Reports from Basra say about eight gunmen kidnapped the

reporters from the city's Sultan Palace Hotel In New York, the group Committee to Protect Journalists says it is deeply concerned about the safety of the missing reporters The group expressed hope that they are found quickly and are able to continue with their work.

The President of East Timor remains in critical condition following a murder attempt against him in Dili, the

capital Jose Ramos-Horta is in a hospital in

Australia Doctors operated on him for wounds to his

stomach Rebels shot Mr Ramos-Horta in his home early Monday morning Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

says he will send more troops and police to East Timor to protect its government United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the murder attempt He also urged people in East Timor to remain calm The United

Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the

attempted murder of President Ramos-Horta and has

wished him a quick recovery It released a statement

following a special meeting about the situation in East

Timor The Security Council statement also condemned a separate attack on a vehicle carrying Prime Minister

Xunana Gusmao And, it called for those responsible to be punished The Council also called for calm and expressed continuing support for international peacekeepers deployed

in East Timor Earlier, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

condemned the attacks President Bush did the same and said they will not stop democracy in the newly independent country Mr Bush and Mr Ban are expected to discuss the situation in East Timor when they meet Friday in

Washington.

The United States has criticized a plan by Burma's

military leaders to hold a vote in May about a new

constitution A Bush administration spokesperson said

Burma's leaders have been writing the document in closed meetings She said opposition leaders and minority ethnic groups have not been included The State Department said the continuing arrests of peaceful political activists have created a climate of fear in Burma that would make a true vote impossible The Bush administration also urged

Burma's leaders to honor a United Nations Security Council resolution approved in answer to its supression of

demonstrations The resolution called for the government

to open talks with its opponents, including detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The United Nations is calling for international action to fight climate change Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke

at the opening of a two-day General Assembly meeting He said the issue is extremely important and called for all

countries to join forces New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also spoke to the meeting He said working against climate change is as important as stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and terrorism Delegates from nearly every

country in the world are taking part in the meeting to

discuss an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol That document requires industrial countries to reduce the

release of harmful gases by two thousand twelve The

United States is the only major industrial country that has not yet approved the Kyoto Protocol.

And now briefly, here again is the major news of the hour read in VOA Special English.

The United States government has announced murder and war crimes charges against six suspects in the terrorist attacks of September eleventh, two thousand one The

United States has arrested four people on charges of spying for China And, two bomb attacks have killed at least

nineteen people and wounded about forty others in the

Iraqi capital, Baghdad.