VOA News for 24 July 2013 - 20130724
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 2013-07-24

Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text
VOA NEWS  Wednesday July 24th, 2013
From Washington, this is VOA news.  More deadly violence in Egypt.  Britain's new royal baby makes debut on the world stage.  I'm Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
More fighting between backers and opponents of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi killed nine people Tuesday despite pleas for calm by the interim president, Adly Mansour.
Egyptian officials say the violence erupted near a sit-in by Morsi supporters at Cairo University.
The pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood says the anti-Morsi side attacked the peaceful protest while police accused the protesters of starting the violence.
Egypt's military-backed government is going ahead with plans for a political transition.
VOA's Andre de Nesnera spoke with former U.S. National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft about what the United States can do to help.
Scowcroft says the United States must help develop a strategy to restore Egypt's economic and political stability.
"What's needed now is to put together a structure which can complete the building of an Egyptian political system--that is with a constitution, with elections, with governments that broadly reflect the interests of the electorate."
The former national security adviser says Washington also is helping in other ways.
"One of the most encouraging things that has happened is that our secretary of defense now talks almost daily with the head of the Egyptian military.  I think that's profoundly beneficial."
Andre de Nesnera, VOA news, Washington.
A British media outlet says it's obtained Pakistani government documents which show that U.S. drone strikes on militant targets in Pakistan have killed many more civilians than U.S. officials acknowledged.
The non-profit Bureau of Investigative Journalism says the Pakistani documents listed 147 civilian deaths in the drone attacks between 2006 and 2009.  It says the figure represents one-fifth of the total deaths recorded in the period.
Pakistani authorities confirmed that most of the rest were militants.
An explosion in eastern Afghanistan killed three NATO coalition service members Tuesday.  Afghan officials say the attack happened in Wardak Province located southwest of the capital, Kabul.
A Dutch court blocked extradition of a terror suspect to the United States, saying it's not been ruled out that the U.S. played a role in his alleged torture while he was detained in Pakistan.
The man, identified as Sabir K., is accused of working with al-Qaeda and planning a suicide attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
The World Bank sent a record amount of financial aid to the world's poorest countries over the last year.  The Washington-based lender and development agency provided !$16,300,000,000 to the most impoverished nations in the year ending in June, with half of the aid sent to African nations.
A new study by the Mercer global consulting firm says the Angolan capital, Luanda, tops the list as the world's most expensive city for expatriates.
Mercer spokesman Steven Nurney told VOA several factors have driven up costs for foreigners working in the capital of oil-rich Angola.
"The cost of high-quality imported goods is very high there and probably the most significant aspect of costs there is the fact that high-quality and secure, and I underscore the word "secure," rental accommodations are very expensive there."
Mercer, the global consulting firm, says Moscow is the second most expensive city for expats followed by Tokyo, which topped the list last year.
Just a day after his arrival in the world, Britain's third in line to the throne entered the global spotlight in the arms of his mother, Kate.
This happened Tuesday and Henry Ridgwell has details from London.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stood on the hospital steps, the proud parents of a boy.  Unfazed by the attention of the world's media, William and Kate brought him over to waiting reporters.
"He's got a good pair of lungs on him, that's for sure.  He's a big boy, he's quite heavy."
"It's very emotional.  It's such a special time.  I think any parent...sort of know what this feeling feels like."
Moments later, a royal car appeared.  William, already getting used to the practicalities of fatherhood, fitted the car seat before driving his new family home.
Henry Ridgwell, VOA news, London.
US regulators say menthol cigarettes may be a bigger health hazard than regular cigarettes.  The Food and Drug Administration says studies show the menthol makes it harder for smokers to quit the deadly habit.
I'm Ray Kouguell, VOA news.  Details on these and other stories are on our website at voanews.com.