The State Department on Thursday stopped short of formally calling Mr.Zelaya's ouster a military coup d'etat, which carries with it harsher aid penalties mandated by Congress.

VOA: standard.2009.09.03

And it comes after a recent U.N.Security Council vote to impose another round of sanctions against Tehran for its nuclear program and the U.S.Congress's approval of harsher unilateral sanctions against nations that supply Tehran with gasoline.

VOA: standard.2010.06.29

That is why I attended today's rally." But many professionals, are cautious about harsher measures or an outbreak of hostilities that would shake investor confidence in South Korea, one of the world's top 15 economies.

VOA: standard.2010.05.27

The Bush administration strenuously defended so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" like sleep deprivation to obtain information from detainees, and admitted to harsher treatment, like the simulated drowning technique called water boarding, that was used in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks.

VOA: standard.2009.08.24