http://192.168.2.6/english/1111/20061111VOA.mp3


[ 此贴被hxf666在2006-11-17 23:20重新编辑 ]

It is 15:00 Universal Time. And here is the news from the Voice of America.

I'm Sarah Williams from the VOA news center in Washington.

President Bush will meet with Senate Democratic Party leader Harry Reid at the White House today, as he continues to search for common ground with the winners of Tuesday's Congressional elections. Reid is expected to become Senate majority leader when the new Congress convenes in January. The president has called on both Democrats and Republicans to set aside differences and work on important issues. Reid said Thursday that Republicans had set a bad example in not working with Democrats in Congress. He vowed Democrats will not follow that example. Mr. Bush met Thursday with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi who was poised to become the first female Speaker of the House. She said Democrats look forward to making progress on problems facing the country. President Bush says with the change of control of the US Congress, he is open to suggestions from opposition Democrats and others, as long as they help ensure victory and a stable democratic government in Iraq. The president and other senior American officials are trying to assure Iraqis of the continued US commitment to their country, which is suffering unabated violence. General Peter Pace chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"For the change in leadership itself, / will not have a direct impact on what we do or don't do in Iraq, as you would expect we continuously review what's going right, what's going wrong, what needs to change."

On Thursday, at least 16 Iraqis were killed in attacks in and around Baghdad. Three American troops were also killed in two separate incidents. Outgoing US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday that the major combat operations in Iraq were an enormous success. But he said the second phase of US efforts has not been going well enough or fast enough.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator has reportedly warned that Tehran will reconsider its relations with the UN nuclear watchdog agency, if the UN Security Council passes a European draft resolution for sanctions against Iran. Russian news agency say negotiator Ali Larijani made the comment about the International Atomic Energy Agency today in Moscow. Larijani met in the Russian capital with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov for talks about Iran's nuclear program. Larijani is quoted as saying they discussed issues of international and regional cooperation and the talks on the nuclear program will continue. Russia has proposed major changes to the European draft resolution before the Security Council, including removing all references to Iran's Bushir nuclear plant. Moscow is helping to build the plant. The draft proposes sanctions against Iran for defying an August 31st deadline to stop enriching uranium. The draft had exempted the power plant from sanctions but not the delivery of nuclear fuel to the facility. Russian officials say the plant should not be linked to concerns over Iran's nuclear program.

A prominent legislator representing Sri Lanka's Tamil minorities has been shot dead in the capital Colombo. Officials say Nadaraja Raviraj, a parliament member representing the Tamil National Alliance, was shot today as he was leaving his home. A bodyguard was also killed in the attack. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa condemned the killing, saying it appeared designed to discredit the government. Tamil rebels blamed the government for the killing, calling it an attempt to silence those promoting the rebels' cause. The Tamil National Alliance is widely regarded as a proxy of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Police in India-controlled Kashmir say at least 4 people have been killed and more than 30 others wounded in 2 grenade attacks. Police say suspected militants hurled a grenade into a crowd outside a mosque today in the town of Daha, 35 kilometers south of the main city of Srinagar. Among the dead were 2 young girls. Hours later, another grenade attack hit the main business center in Srinigar, wounding 2 security officers and at least one civilian.

Serbian President Boris Tadic has called early parliamentary elections following this week's adoption of the Balkon country's new constitution. Mr. Tadic formally announced the January 21st elections today after political leaders agreed on the date Thursday.

More news on the Internet at voanews.com. I'm Sarah Williams, VOA news.