Saudi Media: 9 Americans Among Terror Suspects

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested nine American citizens among a sweep of 33 terror suspects, the Saudi Gazette reported. They were arrested in a sweep, or roundup, of suspects in response to recent terrorism in the kingdom. The U.S. State Department says it is seeking details from the government of Saudi Arabia about reports that nine Americans have been detained in the kingdom as terror suspects. The Saudi Gazette did not say if any of those arrested were linked to the Islamic State terror group. U.S. authorities were checking names to confirm if Americans were arrested, reports said. Also arrested were 14 Saudis, three Yemenis and two Syrians, an Indonesian, a Philippine national and three others. The arrests took place while Saudi Arabia witnessed several deadly attacks over the past months. Friday, a suicide bomber attacked a Shi’ite mosque in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, killing four. Spokesman John Kirby, speaking Monday, said U.S. officials have seen Saudi media reports of the detentions, and that diplomats are in contact with authorities in Riyadh. He told reporters he could not verify "the actual truth of these reports." A Saudi website run by the kingdom's foreign ministry showed a list of 5,158 suspects in detention, including eight Americans. It does not identify the Americans by name or gender. It says four of them were detained January 25.  It says four other Americans were arrested in November and December, and that all eight are "under investigation."  A ninth American is shown convicted of an unidentified crime in 2007, and the website says the conviction is "subject to appeal." Sunday's Saudi news report did not say whether any of the Americans is suspected of links to Islamic State extremists, who have claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks against Saudi security forces and minority Shi'ites in recent months. I’m Jim Dresbach.   This story was based on reports from VOANews.com. Additional information came from the Reuters news service and the Saudi Gazette. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   sweep – n. the act of picking up someone or something in one quick, continuous motion roundup – n. the act or process of finding and gathering together people or things of the same kind province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

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Tools to Use with Gmail

If you use Gmail, Google's email program, you should know about the many tools to help you make the most of your email. Sure, you could use the Google-based email service and do just fine without any of the special functions. But with Gmail, users can get useful tools that can help in different ways. Undo Send The Undo Send function is a very useful setting if you are human. People make mistakes and Undo Send can help save you from your mistakes. This function lets you change your mind about an email you just sent. It gives you the power to cancel an email up to 30 seconds after you send it. This can help if you forgot to include an attachment, catch a mistake, or change your mind about sending the message. You just click Undo Send to prevent the message from being sent. To set up Undo Send, you first hit the gear icon on your Gmail page, and then go to Settings. Click on the box next to Undo Send to enable the feature. You can set the time period for using Undo Send from anywhere between 5 and 30 seconds. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page to save your settings. Sidekick Have you ever wondered if an email you sent has been opened by the person you sent it to? A service called Sidekick will tell you where, when and how your email has been opened. You can use Sidekick to learn when a message was opened, how many times it has been opened, where it was opened and whether it was opened on a computer or mobile device. When you use Sidekick, a checkbox at the bottom of your message allow you to track the message. When the message is opened, you will get a notice telling you information about how and when it was opened. You can receive this information on your computer with a Chrome extension and on your phone through the Sidekick app.   Sidekick for Chrome, Sidekick app for Android, Sidekick iPhone app Boomerang A service called Boomerang helps you schedule your emails. Let's say it is late Sunday and you want to send an email. But you do not want it to get lost first thing Monday morning in someone's inbox. You think it would be better to wait until Tuesday morning to send the email. But you are afraid you will forget to send it by then. Or perhaps someone sends you an important email on a Friday and would like you to answer it on Monday. You worry that if you wait that email will be lost and forgotten by the time Monday arrives. Boomerang lets you control when you send emails and when they appear in your inbox. When you use Boomerang, you will see a Send Later button in Gmail. Click on the button to set when you want your email to arrive. You can schedule emails for birthdays, important meetings or any other event. ​Boomerang website   Unroll.me Inboxes can get filled quickly with subscription emails. Every store, service and website wants you to sign up so they can send you emails about special deals, updates and more. Important emails may be buried among all of your subscriptions. Unroll.me helps you control your inbox by providing a daily list of your subscription emails called the Rollup. You can also use Unroll.me to stop any emails you no longer want to receive. WiseStamp Create your email signature with WiseStamp, a service that lets you add a personal touch to your messages. You can add photographs, contact information and links to your social media accounts to get more followers. Ugly Mail While Sidekick lets you follow the emails you send, Ugly Mail shows you which emails in your inbox are being tracked by the sender. When you open those emails, the sender will know that they have been opened and perhaps get other information about you. You will see an evil eye next to emails that are being tracked by the sender. Ugly Mail currently works to show emails being tracked by the following services: Streak, Yesware, Mandrill, MailChimp, Postmark, TinyLetter, Sidekick, MixMax and Bananatag. More tracking services will be covered in the future. Note that Ugly Mail does not block the tracking; it only shows you that an email is being tracked by the sender. I'm Kathleen Struck.   Do you use any of these Gmail tools? Do you have any other Gmail tools you recommend? Which of these tools do you think are the most useful?     Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this story for VOANews.com. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   function - n. the special purpose or activity for which a thing exists or is used undo - v. to change or stop the effect of (something) : reverse attachment - n. a document or file that is sent with e-mail click - v. to press a button on a mouse or some other device in order to make something happen on a computer gear - n. a toothed wheel in a machine icon - n.a small picture on a computer screen that represents a program or function setting - n.  a particular way of positioning the controls of a machine, system, etc., in order to produce a desired result schedule - v. to plan (something) at a certain time response - n. omething that is said or written as a reply to something text - n. the words that make up the main part of a book, magazine, newspaper, Web site, etc.​ automatic  - adj. having controls that allow something to work or happen without being directly controlled by a person   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 

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Person Infected With Zika Virus Through Sexual Relations

Officials in the southwestern state of Texas have reported what may be the first case of the Zika virus being transmitted in the United States by sexual contact. On Tuesday, health officials in Dallas County said the person became infected after having sexual contact with a person who had returned from Venezuela. Venezuela is a country where the virus is present. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal U.S. health agency, confirmed the infection in an email to VOA. The CDC wrote that it “confirmed through laboratory testing the first U.S. case of Zika virus infection in a non-traveler in the continental United States.” On its website, the CDC notes “Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes-species mosquito.” But it says “the spread of the virus through blood transfusion and sexual contact have been reported.” Last year, French scientists reported the virus was found in the semen of a patient during the 2013 Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia. This supports the possibility that the virus can be transmitted sexually. Dr. Tom Frieden is the head of the CDC. He also sent out Tweets to confirm the infection. Brazil reported the first case of Zika virus in this latest outbreak in May 2015. Since then, the virus has spread by mosquitoes and has caused infections in Brazil, many Latin America countries, and the United States. With the Summer Olympics taking place later this year, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said her government would spend whatever is necessary to kill the kind of mosquitos that carry the virus. In a speech, she said, “my entire government is working on fighting this emergency. There will be no lack of funding, and I’m certain that I will be able to count on the Congress’ support.” She said she has spoken with President Barack Obama about the virus. She said Brazil will work with the U.S. government “to establish our capacity and improve it in order to develop as quickly as possible a vaccine for the Zika virus.” On Monday, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency. It says four million more people could be infected by the end of the year. The health agency called for more international resources to fight the spread of Zika but ruled out a ban on traveling or trade. And the International Red Cross is calling for $2.3 million in emergency money to fight Zika in Latin America. I’m Anna Matteo.     VOANews.com reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   transmit – v. to cause (a virus, disease, etc.) to be given to others continental – adj. the part of the U.S. that is on the North American continent; the states of the U.S. except for Hawaii transfusion – n. a medical treatment in which someone's blood is put into the body of another person​ semen –  n. the sticky, whitish liquid containing sperm that is produced by a male's sex organs​ entire – adj. complete or full; not lacking or leaving out any part funding – n.  money used for a special purpose​ capacity – n. the ability to do something; a mental, emotional or physical ability

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Deadly Suicide Blast Rocks Kabul

A suicide bomber killed at least 20 police officers and wounded close to 30 other people at a police facility in Kabul on Monday. Multiple media sources reported the blast took place outside the Afghan National Civil Order Police building. A statement from the NATO mission said seven Afghan civilians were among the dead. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing. A spokesman for the Taliban said its suicide bomber attacked a group of officers gathered at the gate of the police center. People at the scene of the bombing witnessed the moments before the attack. An investigator said security guards identified the suspected bomber. When attempts were made to stop the assailant, he exploded the bomb. The bombing is the latest in a series of Taliban attacks in Kabul the past few days. Clashes between Afghan security forces and the Taliban have left parts of the Afghan capital without electricity. The fighting and bad weather stopped workers from repairing the damage, according to Afghanistan’s national power company.  Meanwhile, talks are due to start again in Islamabad, Pakistan to work out the details for direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. The opening talks include officials from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States.   Ayaz Gul reported on this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted his report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   mission – n. a group of people sent to a foreign country for a specific reason  gate - n. entrance assailant – n. a person who attacks someone violently due - adj. expected or planned for a given time ​

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actual (adjective)

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Lionel Messi's Biggest Fan

  Last month, a 5-year-old boy in Afghanistan became famous on the Internet. A photograph of him went viral. That means people around the world saw the picture, and shared it with their friends and followers. The boy was wearing a Lionel Messi soccer jersey made from a plastic bag. Messi plays soccer -- a game known as football to most of the world -- for Argentina’s national team.He also plays for the Barcelona club team. The 5-year-old used a blue-and-white striped bag to recreate Messi’s Argentina jersey. He wrote “Messi" and the number 10 on the back. The boy’s name is Murtaza Ahmadi. He became so famous that the Afghanistan Football Federation began working to set up a meeting between him and the sports star. This week, the Afghanistan Football Federation told the media that Messi’s representatives have been in contact. An Afghan federation official told The Guardian newspaper that if Messi could not meet with Murtaza in Afghanistan, the federation would fly the boy to meet with him in Spain. Also this week, new photos of the 5-year-old have gone viral. This time, though, he is wearing an official Messi jersey from his Barcelona club team. And that’s What’s Trending Today…. I’m Ashley Thompson. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   viral - adj. relating to or involving an image or video that spreads rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another. jersey - n. a loose shirt worn by a member of a sports team as part of a uniform striped - adj. having stripes or bands of color federation - n. an organization that is made by joining together smaller organizations

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Nearly 700 Sick Animals Rescued From Shelter

Nearly 700 animals in North Carolina are safe after being rescued from a shelter. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) saved dogs, cats, horses and pigs from awful living conditions. The ASPCA spokesperson says the animals were dirty, sick, thirsty and hungry. The shelter was supposed to help and care for the animals. But many of the animals were sick and neglected. The state and local sheriff’s office investigated the shelter after people complained. They said the animals they adopted were sick and not cared for. The ASPCA says it the largest rescue in the history of the organization. Police arrested the owners of the shelter on charges of animal cruelty. The ASPCA is taking care of the animals in a large warehouse. Ten animal doctors are helping. The animals are part of a crime investigation, so they will be held as evidence until North Carolina decides what to do with them. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on information from Reuters and the Washington Post. Kathleen Struck was the editor.   What do you think should happen to the animals? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   awful – adj. extremely bad or unpleasant thirsty – adj. needing water cruelty – n. actions that cause suffering neglect – v.  to fail to take care of or to give attention to (someone or something)

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Pakistan’s Imran Khan Urges Taliban to Talks

Imran Khan – Pakistani sports star and now politician – says he wants to bring peace to the region through talks. Khan says he wants Afghanistan’s Taliban to negotiate a peaceful resolution to its conflict with the Afghan government. Khan gave an exclusive interview to VOA at his suburban Islamabad home. He said he believes talks could lead to solutions to regional problems. The Taliban “must come to the table, and they must resolve this dispute through talks and negotiations,” Khan said. “War is never a solution. In fact, war leads to unintended consequences just like in Iraq and Syria.”   Khan is a former cricket player, who won the 1992 World Cup for Pakistan. Now, he is a parliamentary leader and major political force in Pakistan. Because he is a cricket legend, he is popular with many groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan who fight about other issues. He was opposed to the U.S.-led military invasion of Afghanistan and American drone strikes against suspected militant hideouts in the Pakistani tribal region. However, he has said he is strongly against Taliban violence, and he supports military crackdowns against the Taliban. Khan said those crackdowns have reduced terrorism. Khan praised a peace process that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States. It is trying to restart peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. “I think it is a very positive thing. We hope and we pray that there is some sort of peace deal, some sort of a power-sharing agreement and then the Americans leave," he said. I’m Jim Dresbach. Ayaz Gul reported on this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   interview – n. a meeting between a reporter and another person in order to get information for a news story suburban – adj. living in or relating to a suburb or to suburbs in general cricket – n. a game played on a large field by two teams of 11 players who try to score runs by hitting a small ball with a bat and then running between two sets of wooden sticks legend – n. a famous or important person who is known for doing something extremely well stance – n. a publicly stated opinion hideout – n. a place where someone hides to avoid being found or captured crackdown – n. a serious attempt to punish people for doing something that is not allowed

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February 2, 2016

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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VOA English Newscast: 1300 UTC February 2, 2016

  From Washington, this is VOA News.      I’m Frances Alonzo reporting. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday the international effort to defeat the Islamic State group is "moving in the right direction," but he cautioned more must be done to support stabilization in Libya and Iraq. Kerry spoke at the opening of a ministerial meeting in Rome where representatives from about 20 countries came to talk about ways to boost the anti-Islamic State campaign. “We’ve always recognized, everybody here has always said this will be a multi-year effort, and it is going to demand sustained contributions and effort by every country. So we all adapted, I think effectively, to what was happening on the battlefield. Kerry also highlighted the risk of the militants taking control in Libya with its vast oil resources, but said that a near agreement on a new national unity government would go a long way to preventing that scenario. Meanwhile, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura is meeting Tuesday in Geneva with representatives of the Syrian government after declaring the start of indirect peace talks and calling on world powers to live up to their pledge to secure an accompanying ceasefire. De Mistura will meet with the government before speaking with opposition delegates. The process is part of a slow, but incremental track of achieving indirect exchanges between the two sides. The United Nations humanitarian office, meanwhile, says it will send the Syrian government a detailed list of aid that it wants to deliver to three towns after getting an agreement "in principle" to make deliveries to people who are badly in need of food and other supplies. The U.N. did not give a date Monday for the deliveries to Madaya, Foua and where Kfarya will take place. This is VOA News. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Newscast   cautioned – v. warned stabilization – n. a process to help end unrest or disorder boost – v. increase multi-year – adj. lasting many years sustained – adj. continuing for an extended period contributions – n. donations or assistance adapted – v. to make changes highlighted – v. noted vast – adj. large or great scenario – n. a possible development of future events meanwhile – adv. at the same time indirect – adj. not directly caused by or resulting from something pledge – n. promise accompanying – adj. being present at the same time as something else track – n. evidence that can be observed achieving – v. getting or reaching something by hard work deliver – v. to take something to a person or place in principle – phrase. as a general idea or plan   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.  ​

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US Senator Discusses Iran, Syria, North Korea

A leading member of the U.S. Senate says he is deeply concerned about the nuclear agreement with Iran, but wants it to succeed. Bob Corker of Tennessee belongs to the Republican Party and is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee for the Senate. He spoke this week with VOA’s Michael Bowman. The Foreign Relations Committee meets about pressing global issues. Among those are the war in Syria, North Korea’s nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions on Iran. The Iran sanctions were designed to punish the Iranian government for seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Last year, the U.S. helped negotiate an agreement that lifted the sanctions. President Barack Obama praised Congress, saying the world had set limits on Iran’s nuclear activities without going to war. Senator Corker did not support the lifting of sanctions on Iran. He said that Iran violated the deal reached in July by testing a long-range missile in October. He said that the U.S. would continue to pressure Iran to honor the terms of the agreement. “… I think where we can add strength, you say in a Republican Congress, I say in a bipartisan manner because it’s felt there are concerns on both sides of the aisle, is to do everything we can to hold Iran’s feet to the fire. “Since the agreement was agreed to they violated UN Security Council Resolutions relative again to ballistic missile testing. And yet, as you can see again there has been no pushback at all which has really disappointing at the UN Security Council.” Some Republicans have said that a new president should “rip up” the agreement. When asked about it, Corker said a new president must convene and lead. He said the president will have to consider the partners in the deal to get the best results. “Probably the best way to do it is not just to come in a rip it, but to assess and to move ahead based on where we are at the time. “ Questions about Syria Peace Efforts Corker also spoke about the civil war in Syria. The Syrian government, opposition groups and international negotiators are talking in Switzerland. Corker told VOA those meetings are difficult. "I think the opposition that, you know, we communicated some with last week has been put in a very awkward place. The humanitarian things that they had asked for have not occurred." Opposition groups say they want government airstrikes to stop so humanitarian aid can be brought areas controlled by rebels. Syrian government forces, with support from Russia, have increased attacks on the city of Aleppo. Corker said he supports the negotiations. "I certainly support diplomatic talks as I think everyone would, but the elements at present do not feel that they are in a proper place.” Sanctions on North Korea to Affect Chinese Entities The senator shared with VOA his thoughts about sanctions aimed at North Korea. His committee approved a bill last week that increases sanctions related to North Korea’s nuclear program. That bill responded to a nuclear test that North Korea said it carried out on January 6. The measure is aimed at entities or groups that supply North Korea’s military. Some of those entities and groups are  Chinese organizations selling to North Korea. “I don’t think there is any question some of those entities are Chinese.” Corker said China was key to North Korea’s actions. He said he was not satisfied with progress made by the United Nations Security Council about North Korea. Speaking about China and additional U.S. sanctions, he said, “I hope these sanctions will change that and hopefully call them to respond to a different way.” I’m Mario Ritter.   Mario Ritter wrote this story with reporting by Michael Bowman. George Grow was the editor. What do you think about the Senator’s comments? Share your thoughts in the comment section. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   sanctions – n. actions taken or an order give to force a country to obey international law by limiting trade or other actions awkward – adj. not easy to deal with bipartisan – adj. involving two political parties both sides of the aisle – idiom involving both political parties pushback – n. an effort to counteract or push back against an action rip up – v. to cancel; to break up or destroy convene – v. to come together in a group for a meeting

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