World News, April 24, 2007

ESL.pod0matic.com Audio Files to Help You Study English — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:03:10 GMT

Bomb attacks across Iraq have killed more than forty-five people and wounded more than one hundred others. The deadliest attack happened in the western city of Ramadi. A bomb in a car exploded near a restaurant and killed at least nineteen people. Near the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber killed ten people in an explosion near the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Another suicide bomber killed at least seven people at a restaurant in Baghdad.

The Democratic party leader of the U.S. Senate says Congress will soon approve a law requiring American troops to begin leaving Iraq by October first. Senator Harry Reid says the law will also place restrictions on American military activity in Iraq after April first, two thousand eight. He says remaining troops will only train Iraqi security groups, protect American forces and carry out targeted anti-terrorism operations. Mr. Reid said President Bush is wrong to increase the number of American troops in Iraq. He said the new Congress will show him the way. Earlier, President Bush met with the United States military leader in Iraq, General David Petraeus. Mr. Bush told reporters that lawmakers should not be telling generals in Iraq how to do their jobs.

The ruling party candidate in Nigeria has been declared the winner of the country's presidential election. Nigerian election officials say Umaru Yar' Adua received more than three times the number of votes than the candidate in second place, Muhammadu Buhari. Mr. Buhari said his party will protest the results in court. International and local election observers reported cheating and other problems with the election Saturday. The United States described the voting as having major problems. The European Union says the vote result cannot be accepted as fair.

An American government official says Sudan seems to be creating a campaign of fear aimed at humanitarian aid workers in the Darfur area. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte says Sudanese officials have refused to give entry documents to aid workers. He says they have also created other ways to block working in the area. Mr. Negroponte recently returned from Sudan. He said conditions at refugee camps have improved, but the situation still threatens to become worse.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Wednesday a day of mourning following the death of former President Boris Yeltsin. Mr. Yeltsin died Monday in Moscow at the age of seventy-six. Russian officials say people may visit his body at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral before he is buried. Mr. Yeltsin was the first president of Russia elected by popular vote. He first served from nineteen ninty-one to nineteen ninty-five. The policies of his first administration led to the end of the Soviet Union. He won reelection in nineteen ninty-six, but major heart problems led to his resignation three years later.

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Sri Lankan officials have canceled a planned visit by Norway's head peace negotiator to a Tamil Tiger rebel area for security reasons. Norwegian officials in the capital, Colombo, say their country's ambassador to Sri Lanka was to have traveled to meet with Tamil Tiger rebel leaders in a Tamil-held town. It is not clear if a new meeting date will be set. Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar last met with the Tamil rebels in March. Also in Sri Lanka, violence has greatly increased between government forces and Tamil rebels. Sri Lankan military officials say at least six Tamil Tigers have been killed in separate incidents with government forces in the northeastern part of the country.

The European Union has extended its restrictions on Burma for another year because of what it calls, "the nation's serious human rights violations." E.U. foreign ministers in Luxembourg announced the extended restrictions in a written statement. They include a ban on travel to Europe for high-level government officials. E.U. companies and organizations are also not permitted to invest in Burma. The Burmese military has ruled the country since nineteen sixty-two. It refused to accept an election victory by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in nineteen ninty.

President Bush has met in Washington with Peruvian President Alan Garcia. They discussed free trade between their countries. President Bush told reporters that President Garcia is in town to urge Congress to approve the free trade agreement both countries have signed. Mr. Bush says he wants the people of South America to understand that the United States cares about their future. Mr. Garcia said trade with the United States is important for the economic development of Peru.

Leaders at an American university say students and teachers are trying to return to normal one week after a gunman killed himself and thirty-two other people. A Virginia Tech official said about ninty percent of the students have returned to their living areas at the university. About seventy-five percent are continuing with classes. Earlier, students and teachers gathered in silence at the two buildings where the murders took place. A bell rang thirty-two times in honor of the victims.

The United States space agency, NASA, has captured the first true to life pictures of the sun. Pictures made by telescopes on its sun spacecraft show the sun in full depth instead of as a flat image. The spacecraft is collecting science information. NASA said the pictures will help scientists improve their work with space weather. It will also help them to better understand the physics of the sun.

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

Bomb attacks across Iraq have killed more than forty-five people and wounded more than one hundred others. The ruling party candidate in Nigeria has been declared the winner of the country's presidential election. And, Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared Wednesday a day of mourning following the death of former President Boris Yeltsin.

March Madness 2007: Men's College Basketball in the USA

ESL.pod0matic.com Audio Files to Help You Study English — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 02:46:44 GMT

"March Madness" describes the excitement about men's college basketball games every year at this time. Barbara Klein has more. North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough tries to block Georgetown's Roy Hibbert. But Georgetown defeated North Carolina in overtime to go on to the Final Four. For the past two weeks, men's basketball teams from large colleges and universities have been playing in a championship competition. Millions of people have been watching the games on television and on Internet web sites. They are also betting on which teams will win and advance in the tournament. The New York Times newspaper reports that the basketball tournament is one of the busiest times of the year in Las Vegas, Nevada. That is because college basketball fans from all over the country meet each other and bet on the games. The series of games is known as "March Madness" because of the public's excitement about the games. And sometimes a team that is not expected to win defeats a team with a better record. The Division One National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament has been played every year since nineteen thirty-nine. Sixty-three basketball games take place each March. The competition begins with sixty-five teams. The winner of each game continues on to play the winner of another game. The number of teams in the competition is slowly reduced to the "Sweet Sixteen" then the "Elite Eight" and finally the two teams who will play for the championship. Four teams have won all their games so far. They will compete in the semi-final games on Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia. These teams are called the "Final Four." The University of Florida basketball team will play the University of California at Los Angeles. And the Ohio State University team will play Georgetown University. The winners will face each other in the Division One NCAA championship game on Monday, April second. Last year, the teams from Florida and UCLA played each other in the final game of the basketball tournament. Florida won, so it is now the defending champion. Will it win again? We will let you know next week.

ESL = English as a Second Language

World News, April 24, 2007

March Madness 2007: Men's College Basketball in the USA

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