The Obama administration came into office offering outreach to Tehran, including a direct U.S.role in big-power contacts with Iran on its nuclear program.

VOA: standard.2009.06.24

La Push Beach down at the Quileute Rez.We're all going tomorrow. - Yeah, there's a big swell coming in.- And I don't just surf the Internet.

VOA: standard.other

And for all Thursday's celebrations - big and small the skies in Beijing were clear and blue, a striking departure from the heavy fog of a day earlier.

VOA: standard.2009.10.01

Electoral observers say that Sunday's vote appeared to draw a big turn-out.

VOA: standard.2009.08.30

"You know, I was an avid skateboarder as a kid." "I had a big half-pipe in my backyard and that's what kind of drew me to snowboarding initially.

VOA: standard.2010.02.26

U.S.officials hope it can be convened before key big-power discussions of the Iranian nuclear issue begin in New York during the third week of this month, on the sidelines of the U.N.General Assembly session.

VOA: standard.2009.09.11

Kelly said the results of the inspection of the Qom plant, and Tehran's final decision on the uranium export plan, will figure heavily in big-power discussions on whether to seek further punitive action against Iran over its nuclear program.

VOA: standard.2009.10.24

I mean,I think that knowing how HIV basically gets transmitted is something that people are afraid, that people know that they have had extra-marital sex-the whole concept of men who have sex with other men-- it's a big taboo, and the region does not want to admit that we have these groups.

VOA: standard.2010.07.07

Damascus has steadfastly denied the charges. Hilal Kashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, thinks that the Hezbollah-led opposition scored a big victory with the general's release and could win the parliamentary elections because of it:"The opposition is using the release of the 4 senior officers as a moral victory, and says for the past 3 years and 8 months, four officers were jailed for no reason, whatsoever and they are coming hard on the Lebanese legal system and the process the Lebanese government, and they say this is the beginning,"

VOA: standard.2009.04.30