Twenty-nine died on April 5 in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, operated by the Massey Energy Company.

VOA: standard.2010.04.27

Jeff Kingston teaches modern Japanese history at the Temple University branch in Tokyo.

VOA: standard.2010.02.15

In Brussels, Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission - the European Union's executive branch - told reporters that aid the EU has already pledged must be delivered quickly.

VOA: standard.2009.04.09

For several years,al-Shabab, which follows the ultra-conservative branch of Islam propagated by al-Qaida and the Taliban, has been trying to eradicate Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, which has deep roots in Somalia.

VOA: standard.2010.01.02

In a first reaction the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, said it was confident the Czech Republic could continue to "effectively preside over the European Union" despite the government losing a no-confidence vote in Prague Tuesday's vote of no confidence came after the opposition said the government came to late with a stimulus package of over three billion dollars to boost the ailing economy of this Eastern European nation.

VOA: standard.2009.03.25