But it says that has allowed some long-standing disputes among national and regional leaders to re-emerge and become a concern for the long term.

VOA: standard.2009.03.31

"Two aspects of the Taliban: One is,in some places, they're just not standing and fighting.

VOA: standard.2009.07.20

A long-standing drought, along with recent devastating bushfires and widespread floods have given some scientists more reason to think that the vast continent is likely to be one of the countries hardest hit by a shifting climate.

VOA: standard.2009.05.03

"They're not quite there yet. There have been some serious efforts to deal with a combination of long-standing problems in the auto industry and the current crisis which has seen the market for new cars drop from 14 million [vehicles in annual sales to nine million.

VOA: standard.2009.03.30