The vast reddish desert that covers much of Somalia's central Mudug region has always been a source of wealth, as well as calamity, for thousands of pastoral families.

VOA: standard.2009.10.06

The secretary reportedly has been trying to mediate between Kurdish leaders and the central government in Baghdad, over a thorny territorial dispute over the oil-rich region of Kirkuk.

VOA: standard.2009.07.29

The LRA began intensifying civilian attacks in the DRC a year ago, but the group is now regularly crossing the border into neighboring Central African Republic and the Western Equatorial region of southern Sudan.

VOA: standard.2009.08.27