Trump Threatens ‘Major Sanctions’ after N. Korea Missile Launch

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened “major sanctions” against North Korea after it tested a missile capable of reaching much of the United States. Trump wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about North Korea’s latest missile launch. He said that “additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today.” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States has “a long list of additional potential sanctions, some of which involve potential financial institutions.” North Korean state media reported that the intercontinental ballistic missile is capable of striking the “whole mainland” of the U.S. The missile could be armed with a “super-large heavy nuclear warhead.” The missile was launched at 3:17 a.m. on Wednesday from North Korea – or early Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C. It reached a height of 4,475 kilometers and traveled 950 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan. State media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that his country has achieved its goal of becoming a “rocket power.” After the launch, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the missile test “went higher, frankly, than any previous shot they have taken.” He added North Korea is continuing to build missiles that can “threaten everywhere in the world.” American scientist David Wright has been following North Korea’s missile and nuclear program. He wrote a blog post about the missile test for the Union for Concerned Scientists. “Such a missile would have more than enough range to reach Washington, D.C., and in fact any part of the continental United States,” Wright said. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he is concerned that North Korea’s missile threat could force the U.S. to attack the North. Moon said at an emergency meeting in Seoul, “We must stop a situation where North Korea miscalculates and threatens us with nuclear weapons or where the United States considers a preemptive strike.” Moon has repeatedly said the U.S. cannot attack the North without Seoul’s approval. But the U.S. may act without South Korean input. The North Korean missile test came a week after the U.S. added the country back to a list of countries supporting terrorism. The White House said Wednesday that in his call with President Xi Jinping, Trump spoke about the need for China to urge North Korea to “end its provocations and return to the path of denuclearization.” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said Xi told Trump that China remained determined to clear the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons and to keep peace and stability in Northeast Asia.   Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on AP news reports. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   impose - v. to force someone to accept potential - adj. possible preemptive - adj. done to stop an unwanted act by another group, country, etc., from happening

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Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, India

More than 1,000 entrepreneurs or business owners and operators are in Hyderabad, India this week for the 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit. The central idea this year is women and business.

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NBC Dismisses Matt Lauer Over Reports of Sexual Abuse

This is What’s Trending Today… The American television network NBC has dismissed Matt Lauer, a star of its morning news program, after someone accused him of sexual abuse. Lauer is the latest well-known American man to be brought down by abuse accusations in recent weeks. Lauer, who is 59, worked on NBC’s “Today" show for 20 years. He became the second morning show host in recent days to lose his job over reports of sexual wrongdoing. Last week, CBS News dismissed morning host Charlie Rose after several women who worked for him complained about his behavior. NBC News chairman Andy Lack said in a statement that the network received on Monday a “detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer.” Lack added that the company had reason to believe that more accusations against Lauer may follow. “Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie was joined by colleague Hoda Kotb as she reported on Lauer’s dismissal Wednesday morning. Guthrie read Lack’s statement. She also told television viewers she was “heartbroken” for Lauer and for, in her words, “the brave colleague who came forward to tell her story.” The allegations involve an NBC employee who says Lauer abused her while both were working at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. The woman said the abuse continued after Sochi. Lauer is the latest famous man to face allegations of sexual abuse. The list includes President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, entertainer Bill Cosby, and more recently, film producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey and news media leaders. More than 15 women have accused Trump of sexual harassment or worse. The president has called the accusations “fake news” both on Twitter and in other statements. On Wednesday, Trump wrote about Lauer's dismissal on Twitter. He wrote, "Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for 'inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.' But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lack’s past!" NBC News did not answer questions connected to Trump's tweet. And that’s What’s Trending Today.   The Associated Press and VOA News reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver and George Grow were the editors.  _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   host - n. a person who talks to guests on a television or radio show complaint - n. a formal charge saying that someone has done something wrong colleague- n. a person who works with you: a fellow worker inappropriate- adj.  not right or suited for some purpose or situation allegations- n. a statement saying that someone has done something wrong or illegal entertainer- n. a person (such as a singer, an actor, or a comedian) who entertains other people accuse- v. to blame (someone) for something wrong or illegal: to say that someone is guilty of a fault or crime harassment - n. repeatedly unwanted interactions 

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November 29, 2017

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

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North Korea Fires Another ICBM

  North Korea launched a missile Tuesday that went down in the Sea of Japan about 370 nautical kilometers from the Japanese coast. American officials say it was an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. They say it traveled higher, farther and longer than any earlier North Korean test missile. President Donald Trump spoke about the launch during a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House. He said the United States, in his words, “will take care of it.” He told reporters, “It’s a situation that we will handle.” He did not offer any details. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis also spoke at the meeting. He said North Korea is continuing to build missiles that can “threaten everywhere in the world.” U.S. Defense Department spokesman Rob Manning said the ICBM launched from Sain Ni in North Korea. It traveled about 1,000 kilometers, he said. South Korean military officials said the missile reached the height of around 4,500 kilometers. South Korea’s military answered the launch minutes later with its own missile test. Japan’s defense minister estimated that the missile flew for about 50 minutes. The launch is North Korea’s first since it fired an intermediate range missile over Japan on September 15. David Wright is a physicist at the Union for Concerned Scientists. He told the Associated Press that the missile appeared to be North Korea’s longest-range test yet. He said the missile could go as far as 13,000 kilometers if it had not flown at a lofted angle. The ICBM launch came a week after the United States added North Korea back to the list of countries supporting terrorism. North Korea called that move a “serious provocation” that gives good reason for its development of nuclear weapons. I’m Caty Weaver.   Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional AP news reports. Caty Weaver was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   intermediate range - n. ballistic missile with a range of 3,000 to 5,500 kilometers lofted angle - n. the degree of launch angle to set a missile's path provocation - n. an action that causes someone to be come angry or to do something

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November 28, 2017

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

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Grow Your Vocabulary by Learning Root Words

  English has been called one the most difficult languages for non-native speakers to learn. One reason is that English has so many rules – and almost as many exceptions of those rules! Sometimes, this leaves learners confused. For example, the order of words in a sentence can be tricky. Another reason English is hard to learn is that the pronunciation of its words cannot always be predicted by their spelling. For example, there are at least six ways to pronounce the group of letters spelled o-u-g-h. And, maybe the worst thing of all is that there are many idioms, or expressions, in English. You could say we use idioms like they're going out of style. So, it is comforting to know that learning root words can help a non-native speaker use English. A root word is the most basic form of a word. Root words can help you to break down large, new words into smaller units to discover their meanings. Learning just one root word can help you understand several words in English. So, by learning just 20 or 30 root words, you can expand your English vocabulary to include hundreds of new words. A root can be any part of a word that carries meaning: the beginning, middle or end. Prefixes, bases, and suffixes are types of roots. The prefix appears at the beginning of a word, the base in the middle and the suffix at the end. Most English root words came from the Greek and Latin languages. Building vocabulary through root words One useful method for building vocabulary through root words is to first look at a base word and then look for familiar prefixes and suffixes that go with that base. Let's try an example: the base word “struct-.” It comes from the Latin word meaning “build.” Any English word you hear containing “struct-”*  will relate to building, developing or creating something. By itself, “struct” is not a word, but it is the basis for more than 30 words in English. For example, the word “construct” is a verb that means “to build.” The prefix “con” means “together” or “with.” So, "construct" means to put things together to build or create something. Adding suffixes to “struct-” creates additional words. For example, adding “-ion” in English makes verbs into nouns. When we add "-ion" to “construct," we get "construction," which means the process, or act, of building something. Adding the suffix “-ing” to “construct” makes “constructing.” That is the gerund form and has a similar meaning as the noun "construction." Adding the suffix “-ive” to make “constructive” gives us the adjective form, and means helpful in developing or improving something. Now, let's build onto “constructive." Adding the suffix “ly” to "constructive" gives us the word “constructively” and produces an adverb. It means doing something in a way that is helpful. There are many other words that the base word “struct” produces. For instance, “destruction” is the opposite of “construction.” "Destruction" is the act of taking apart or damaging something that was built. "Instruction" means the act of building knowledge and has a similar meaning to the gerund "teaching." And, just like with "construct," you can add many suffixes to "destruct" or "instruct" to get several more words. The suffixes may include -ion, -ing, -ive, ing+ly or -ive+ly. So, you see, by knowing just one root word – “struct-” – you can get a better idea of the meaning of at least 15 words in English. A few other common root words include “bio" meaning life, “auto” meaning self, “pro” meaning before or in favor of, and “tele” meaning distance. Surely, you recognize some of these roots. So, choose one or two and write in the comments section all of the words you can think of that come from them. Join us again soon when we will discuss suffixes and prefixes. Learning common roots, prefixes and suffixes will help you become an expert in deconstructing the meanings of English words and constructing a strong vocabulary. I'm Jill Robbins And I’m Alice Bryant.   Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   confuse – v. to make someone uncertain or unable to understand something spell – v. to say, write or print the letters of a word or name idiom – n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a meaning of its own like it's going out of style – idiom. done in a way that is much more than people normally do comforting – adj. a state or situation in which you are relaxed and do not have any physically unpleasant feelings unit – n. a single thing, person, or group that is a part of something larger vocabulary – n. the words that make up a language   10 Common Root Words Root Meaning bio- life auto- self phon- sound tele- distance, far geo- earth photo- light vac- empty scrib-, script- write vis-, vid- see port- carry sens-, sent- feel   *The root words "struct-" and "stru-" mean "build."

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'Complicit' Is Dictionary.com's Word of the Year

  Every year, language researchers and dictionary publishers choose a "Word of the Year." The word often reflects the news or social media trends during the year. The American Dialect Society started the practice in 1991. This year, Dictionary.com selected the word "complicit" as its word of the year. The online dictionary site chooses its Word of the Year based on the number of people who look up the word's meaning. Overall, there were 300 percent more people looking up the word “complicit” in 2017 than there were in 2016. Before you run to look up the word, too, we will let you know that Dictionary.com says complicit means "choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others." Staying silent about crimes is being complicit Jane Solomon is an editor at Dictionary.com. She told The Associated Press that there were many discussions in 2017 about people in power and the people around them who stayed silent about crimes they may have seen. “This year a conversation that keeps on surfacing is what exactly it means to be complicit,” she said. “Complicit has sprung up in conversations about those who speak out against powerful figures in institutions, and those who stay silent.” Interest in "complicit" began with a satire video on Saturday Night Live, a weekly television comedy. The video shows a fake commercial for a perfume designed by Ivanka Trump, a daughter of the United States President Donald Trump. The name of the perfume is "Complicit." A voice in the video explains, “She’s beautiful, she’s powerful, she’s complicit.” The satire tries to connect Ms. Trump with accusations that people in her father's election campaign broke laws. About a month later, Ivanka Trump appeared on a morning news television program and said, “I don’t know what it means to be complicit.” Since she did not explain, more people looked up the word. Senator says he will not be complicit On October 24, Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake announced from the Senate floor that he would not try to win another term in the Senate. He criticized President Trump and asked other members of his party not to silently support the president.   “I have children and grandchildren to answer to, and so, Mr. President, I will not be complicit,” Flake said. Solomon says that another reason for the increase in look-ups for "complicit" is the accusations of sexual harassment against movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Some of Weinstein's associates say that they knew about the accusations years earlier, but were afraid to say anything about it publicly. More words of the year to come Keep your eyes open for more "Word of the Year" awards coming up in December and January. We will help you to add those words to your vocabulary in English, too. I'm Jill Robbins. Here is the Saturday Night Live Video: Ivanka Trump's Complicit Cologne Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English based on an AP report. Hai Do was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   scandal - n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong complicit - adj. helping to commit a crime or do wrong in some way institution - n. an established organization satire – n. humor that shows the weaknesses or bad qualities of a person, government, or society fake - adj. meant to look real or genuine but not real or genuine harass - v. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way

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Bangladesh to House Rohingya in Flood-Prone Island

Bangladesh has approved a plan to temporarily house 100,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in neighboring Myanmar. The plan would put the refugees on Bhashan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal that floods frequently. Bangladesh’s government approved the plan on Tuesday to develop the island, despite criticism from humanitarian workers. They have said the island is nearly uninhabitable. The decision came days after Bangladesh completed talks to start returning the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. Planning Minister Mustafa Kamal said it would take time to return the refugees. In the meantime, Bangladesh needs a place to house them. The project to house refugees on the island would be complete by 2019, he said. “Many people are living in dire conditions,” he said. He described the rising number of refugees as “a threat to both security and the environment.” A plan to develop the island and use it to house refugees was first proposed in 2015. The island regularly floods between the months of June and September. That is monsoon season for the area. It is two hours by boat from the nearest settlement. When the sea is calm, pirates sail around nearby waters and kidnap fishermen for ransom. More than 620,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since the military in mostly Buddhist Myanmar launched a severe counter-insurgency operation against them. The operation across Rakhine state followed attacks by Rohingya militants on an army base and police posts. Meanwhile, Pope Francis said the future of Myanmar depends on respecting the rights of each ethnic group. But he did not use the word “Rohingya” in his speech to civilian leaders of the country. Myanmar’s Catholic Church has asked the Pope to avoid saying “Rohingya,” because doing so could lead to strong reaction against the small Catholic community in the Buddhist-majority country. Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens. The Pope plans to visit Bangladesh on Thursday. His visit does not include a visit to a refugee camp. But he is expected to meet with a small group of Rohingya in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. I'm Ashley Thompson.   Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Reuters news report. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   uninhabitable - adj. not safe or suitable to live in dire - adj. very bad ransom - n. money that is paid in order to free someone who has been captured or kidnapped counter-insurgency - n. action by an army against people who fight the government

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Television Star Leads Honduras Presidential Vote

Early results in the Honduran presidential election show that a television host has a surprise lead over the country’s current leader. But both candidates are claiming victory after Sunday’s voting. With 58 percent of the votes counted, Salvador Nasralla had 45.17 percent of the vote and President Juan Orlando Hernandez had 40.21 percent. “I am the new president-elect of Honduras,” Nasralla wrote on Twitter after the results were announced. Hernandez said in a brief statement that he had won. He asked supporters to wait for vote counts to come in from rural areas, where he has greater support. The country’s election court said it will wait until all the votes are counted to release the results later in the week. A close result could lead to further tensions in Honduras, which has suffered years of severe gang crime and drug wars. Hernandez has been credited with lowering a high murder rate, increasing economic growth and cutting the deficit since he took office in 2014. But he has also been accused of connections to illegal financing. His opponents also claim that he is plotting a power grab. Hernandez’s attempt to win a second presidential term was divisive in Honduras. The country is still dealing with the effects from a 2009 coup. Former President Jose Manuel Zelaya was ousted after proposing a vote on lifting term limits. Zelaya was at Nasralla’s side on Monday morning. Many people believe that the former president may be a major beneficiary if Nasralla wins. A U.S. official said he did not think Hernandez would now be able to catch Nasralla in the vote count. He called this “a real stress test for Honduras’ democratic institutions and the leadership and character of its political figures.” The United States views Hernandez as a reliable ally in handling drug trafficking, gangs and migration. The U.S. has longstanding military ties to Honduras and few among current Central American leaders. Nasralla has not suggested he would reduce security cooperation with the United States. But U.S. officials do not trust his links to Zelaya. I’m Jonathan Evans.   Gabriel Stargardter and Gustavo Palencia wrote this story for Reuters. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in this Story   beneficiary – n. a person, organization, etc., that is helped by something; someone or something that benefits from something  

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Asian Countries Improve Economic Ties While Ignoring Other Issues

  Asian nations are ignoring human rights issues to focus on trade and investment, some experts say. They say this is causing problems for Western countries that want to increase trade but also protect human rights. The fastest-growing economies are in Asia. About 4.5 billion people live on the continent. Asian leaders rarely criticize other Asian governments for situations within their own borders. Such situations include the campaign against illegal drugs in the Philippines and the conflict between Myanmar’s leaders and ethnic Rohingya. Recently in Manila, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with representatives of eight governments, including the United States and China. The delegates did not talk about domestic problems in any of the countries. Human rights groups had urged the delegates for such discussion. Daniel Chua is the deputy head of graduate studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He says he thinks Asian countries do not mix economic projects with domestic issues or human rights. Such non-interference permits governments to focus on trade alone. But, citizens of Western countries often pressure their leaders to link human rights, labor problems or environmental issues with trade. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and President Donald Trump met at the ASEAN meeting. A Duterte spokesman says Trump did not talk about reports that Philippine police have killed thousands of people in the campaign against illegal drugs. Duterte has criticized world leaders who have talked about the campaign, including former President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Jayant Menon is chief economist at the Asian Development Bank. He says Asian countries do not need “deep” free-trade agreements, or FTAs, that would deal with labor and pollution issues. He says a World Trade Organization study shows that, in his words, “Asian FTAs in general are a bit more shallow than other FTAs...because they (Asian countries) are not as big as Europe or North America. To sustain themselves, they need to look outside their borders for most of their trade and investment.” When Asian leaders make trade deals with one another, such as investment in infrastructure projects, they do not include pro-labor or environmental agreements. Western governments often require such agreements as part of trade deals. At the ASEAN meetings, a joint statement was released on a planned ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to be signed next year. The trade agreement would involve 16 countries including China and India and half of the world’s population. The statement discusses trade and economic issues but not labor, the environment or human rights. ASEAN represents 630 million people and four countries whose economies are predicted to grow more than 6 percent this year. It has trade agreements with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. In Manila, ASEAN and the United States said they would increase cooperation. I’m Caty Weaver.   Correspondent Ralph Jennings reported this story from Taipei. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver 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 focus - v. to direct your attention or effort at something shallow - adj. smaller sustain - v. to provide what is needed    

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