Does it need refinement in some way?" "And if it does need some adjustment in light of the events that have taken place over the last number of months, including the election and so on, and then what are the implications of that in terms of General McChrystal's resource request?" The secretary said the United States will not abandon its core mission in Afghanistan, which President Obama described as the destruction of the al-Qaida terrorist network, because it is "critical" to U.S.national security.

VOA: standard.2009.10.23

Just last week,the Commerce Department reported an unexpected drop in December in the number of housing starts by builders.

VOA: special.2011.01.24

Last week, we told you that the number of foreign students in the United States had reached an all-time high.

VOA: special.2009.12.03

Before last week's announcement, the total number of so-called exoplanets outside our solar system was just over five hundred.

VOA: special.2011.02.09

Last year, two American government agencies and an international organization announced a number of policies for environmentally-friendly racing.

VOA: special.2009.11.03

It says the number of international students last year was almost fifteen percent higher than the last record setting year, two thousand two.

VOA: special.2009.11.26

Another report on Thursday showed a small drop in the number of newly jobless workers last week.

VOA: special.2009.08.28

The International Shark Attack File says the number of shark attacks rose twenty five percent last year.

VOA: special.2011.03.15

The World Food Program said last week that the number of hungry people will pass one billion this year for the first time in history.

VOA: special.2009.09.22

We ,over the last twenty-five years, seen an alarming decline in the number of beekeepers.

VOA: special.2011.05.24

Rolling Stone magazine named it the number two rock album of the last ten years.

VOA: special.2010.08.13

Also,new claims for unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest number since January.

VOA: special.2009.11.06

In Senegal, the number of public schools has doubled in the last ten years.

VOA: special.2010.05.20

The truce did not last long. In the weeks that followed, a number of attempts were made to stop or arrest the leaders of the Free State government.

VOA: special.2009.05.07