dec. 01

It is twenty-three hours thirty Universal Time and here is the news in Special English. ▼ President Obama will announce a new action plan for Afghanistan. The plan is said to include sending at least thirty thousand more American troops to war. The increase would bring the number of American troops in Afghanistan to about one hundred thousand. Administration officials say all the forces will be in place in about six months. They say the aim is to have troops start leaving Afghanistan in July of two thousand eleven. President Obama will speak Tuesday night at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says there is no need for more talks on his country's nuclear program. He says all issues are settled and the program is legal. Mr. Ahmadinejad spoke on Iranian state television. Western nations say Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. An Obama administration spokesman said Tuesday that several steps could be taken against Iran, including restrictions and possible military force.

Pakistani officials say a suicide bomber has killed a politician in the northwest area of the nation. The officials say the bomb explosion killed assembly member Shamsher ali-Khan at his home. The lawmaker lived about thirty kilometers northwest of Mingora, the major town in the Swat Valley. Officials say the explosion also wounded twelve people, including Mr. Khan's brother. Also Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Pakistan's free press is threatened. The group said the political and military conflicts under the government of President Asif ali-Zardari are threatening media freedom.

Sri Lanka has opened refugee camps, where thousands of ethnic Tamils have been held since the civil war ended in May.

An official says the Tamils can come and go from the camps as they please. But, Sri Lanka says many will probably stay at the camps because many homes were destroyed in the conflict. The government says it will close the camps completely next month. There are about one hundred thirty thousand displaced people at the camps. Other countries have been pressuring Sri Lanka to release the ethnic Tamils. But, officials say they wanted to be sure the detainees were not linked to rebels.

The President of South Africa says his country will launch an extension of testing and drug treatment for patients infected with HIV. That is the virus that causes the disease AIDS. President Jacob Zuma announced the plan at ceremonies marking World AIDS Day in South Africa. He said that by next April, the country will treat all children younger than one year old who are shown to be infected. He also called for an end to unfair treatment of persons carrying HIV. The United Nations says more than thirty-three million people are infected worldwide. On Monday, American officials said a rule barring HIV carriers from visiting the United States will be canceled early next year.

You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.

Leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal say Honduras should return ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power. They say the move would be an important step in bringing democracy back to the country. The group released the statement Tuesday in Estoril, Portugal, after a yearly meeting of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking nations. The group did not say if it recognized Sunday's presidential elections in Honduras. Candidate Porfirio Pepe Lobo won the vote. On Wednesday, Honduran lawmakers are to vote about whether to return Mr. Zelaya to office to complete his term. His term ends in January.

China is taking legal action against a group of suspected gang members in Chongqing. The crime group is charged with money [and] financial wrongdoing, holding weapons and operating an illegal center for games of chance. Official Chinese media said twenty-six suspects went on trial Tuesday. They are accused of being a part of a gang led by Chen Zhiyi. The suspects face twenty-two charges linked to organized crime.

Citizens in North Korea are hurrying to exchange the North Korean won for foreign monies. Earlier, North Korea's central bank announced it had revalued the won. The Chinese news agency Xinhua and South Korean news agencies say the money was revalued at an exchange rate between old and new notes of one hundred to one. North Koreans reportedly have until Sunday to trade in old won notes for new money. The move appears to be aimed at reducing inflation.

Debt problems in Dubai continue to hurt share prices on some stock exchanges in the Middle East. But, investors in Asia, Europe and the Americas are pushing prices up. Officials in Dubai announced Tuesday they were negotiating to restructure twenty-six billion dollars in debt owed by a state-owned company. The announcement may have eased some concerns of investors. Earlier, it was thought that the Dubai World company had debts equal to more than two times that amount.

The Iraqi reporter who threw a shoe [shoes] at former American President George Bush last year had a shoe thrown at him Tuesday. Muntazer al-Zaidi was speaking to reporters in Paris, France when an Iraqi reporter threw a shoe towards him. The reporter, Seif al-Khayat, was then chased out of the room by Mr. Zaidi's brother. Mr. Khayat told an Iraqi news agency that he threw his shoe because Mr. Zaiide's behavior had dishonored Arab and Iraqi reporters. Mr. al-Zaidi spent nine months in jail for throwing his shoes at Mr. Bush last December in Baghdad. ▲ And now briefly, here again is the major news of the hour.

President Obama is to announce a new action plan for Afghanistan. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says there is no need for more talks on his country's nuclear program. And, Sri Lanka has opened refugee camps, where thousands of ethnic Tamils have been held since the civil war ended in May.

That's the news in VOA Special English, coming to you from Washington. Source: VOA Special English December 1, 2009 2330UTC http://www.voa-study.net/