By Muhammad Tahir

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) — The United States is signaling no let-up in pressure on Pakistan to act against armed groups in its lawlessness tribal regions, which top American military leaders believe to pose serious threats to its forces in Afghanistan.

Besides mounting pressure, several senior American military leaders recently accused Pakistan’s main intelligence agency of having links with the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, blamed for attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul on Sept. 13. Ten Afghan soldiers were killed in the 17-hour gun-battle with the heavily- armed insurgents, who had occupied a multi-story building in the hearts of Kabul. Continue Reading

By Han Qiao, Zhang Chenjun and Stephen Sacks

XI’AN, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — A battalion of more than 300 hungry elementary school students storm toward the dining hall, eager to get their hands on mantou,or steamed bread. Washing their hands prior is required by teachers, but with only eight hand-washing stations, the words are ignored by many, because evidently, appetite trumps cleanliness.

But there are some students at Zhongxun Elementary School in Dancun Town, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, realizing the importance of washing hands. Continue Reading

by Wendy Qi

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) — Less than two months after Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO, the visionary leader of the iconic technology company passed away Wednesday at the age of 56.

Jobs’ life undoubtedly had a profound impact on the tech industry and the way individuals interact with technology. With his passing, the question has now become what the post-Jobs technology era will look like and how his legacy will live on. Continue Reading

by Wang Fengfeng

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday announced the killing of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, calling it a “major blow” to al-Qaeda’s most active operational affiliate, the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Yet as the president and U.S. experts acknowledged, the death of al-Awlaki does not mean the end of Washington’s anti-terror efforts. In fact, it even raised some thorny legal questions for the administration. Continue Reading

by George Bao

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — California will start a massive “realignment” plan to fix its overcrowded prison systems amid worries it might threaten public safety.

Under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, California will begin implementing what it calls a “public safety realignment” plan Sunday to reduce its total prison population of 156,000 by an estimated 37,000. Continue Reading

by Christine Schiffner

NEW YORK, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Once a month, 150 people crowd into the community room of a low-income housing complex in Irvington, New Jersey, about a 30-minute drive from New York City. Most of them are seniors who worked hard all their lives.

They wait patiently for a few bags of basic groceries worth about 50 U.S. dollars, supplemental food aid they have come to rely on in order to make ends meet. Only a few are willing to talk to reporters, most of them are too embarrassed to admit they have difficulties putting food on the table. Continue Reading

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — As Palestinian leaders are applying to the United Nations for recognition as an independent state, U.S. President Barack Obama is forced to walk an ever thinning tightrope, experts said.

“He’s walking a tightrope that U.S. presidents have been doing since Jimmy Carter,” said Dan Mahaffee with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

“But with the Arab Spring, it’s an even more uncertain situation to balance the relationship with Israel with support for an eventual settlement with the Palestinians.” Continue Reading

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) — The worst economy in decades has taken a toll on the popularity of U.S. President Barack Obama, although he still has time to bolster his poll numbers before the 2012 elections, U.S. experts said Thursday. Continue Reading

by Xinhua Writers Liu Lina, Jiang Xufeng

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced new easing policies to boost the world’s largest economy, but for a country that has long been troubled by slow growth, the fresh move is not expected to be a silver bullet.

GLOOMIER OUTLOOK

In a statement released after a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed’s interest rate policy making body, the central bank depicted a gloomier economic outlook. Continue Reading

by George Bao

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama outlined Monday a spending cuts and tax increases plan, which is widely interpreted here as to tax the rich.

“Middle-class families shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires,” he said. Continue Reading

by Mark Weisenmiller

TAMPA, the United States, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) — Mandarin Chinese is becoming a more popular foreign language course being taught in the U.S. public school system, as students have started a new school year in September.

The Labor Day holiday weekend is traditionally the last major summer holiday for U.S. public school students before starting a new school year. For the 2011-2012 school session, a number of these students began to take, for the first time in their educational careers, courses in Mandarin Chinese. Continue Reading

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — Nearly 100 men, many in suits, shirts and khakis, knelt on long strips of white linen spread out on a beige carpeted floor, heeding the call to prayer.

Behind them were around a dozen women wearing headscarves in shades of white, blue, aqua and red. As a man at the front of the room sang out a series of Koranic verses, the small congregation bowed. Continue Reading