Bush to Meet Chinese President

By Paula Wolfson Sydney 05 September 2007

Download

President Bush says he is eager to talk to China's president about trade and climate change - the two main issues at this year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Australia. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush will meet with Hu Jintao on Thursday, as regional leaders gather in Sydney for the annual APEC meeting.

President Bush says he has a lot to discuss with President Hu, and climate change tops the list.

China was recently ranked as the world's second-largest emitter of so-called greenhouse gases, which are thought to contribute to climate change. The United States is the largest.

"In order for there to be an effective climate change policy, China needs to be at the table," said Mr. Bush. "In order to get China to the table, they have to be part of defining the goals."

President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard speak to reporters during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, 05 Sept 2007

At a joint news conference Wednesday in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Mr. Bush said the U.S. relationship with China is complex. He talked about financial issues, and again spoke of the need to convince China to let its currency float on world markets.

"We still have got a huge trade deficit with China, which then causes us to want to work with them to adjust - to let their currency float," he said. "We think that would be helpful in terms of adjusting trade balances."

Mr. Bush was asked if he plans to bring up recent allegations that Chinese hackers with government ties were able to tap into an unclassified e-mail system at the Pentagon's computer.

The Pentagon has confirmed that the system was hacked, but would not confirm that the source was in China.

President Bush said he has not seen all the information in the case, and declined to say if he believes the allegations. Instead, he focused on the need to build a relationship with China that enables Washington and Beijing to discuss sensitive issues openly and candidly.

"There's a lot of issues which we wish they would - wish they would have a different lean to their policy. So I'm going to discuss these with him," added Mr. Bush. "But it's best to be able to discuss these issues in an environment that is frank and open and friendly, as opposed to one in which there's tension and suspicion."

Mr. Bush said there are areas where the United States and China are working together to tackle world problems. He made specific mention of progress in efforts to deal with North Korea's nuclear ambitions. He says he would like to see that kind of cooperation in dealing with Iran, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

Bush Apologizes for APEC Summit Chaos

By Phil Mercer Sydney 05 September 2007

Download

There has been commuter chaos in parts of Australia's biggest city, a result of the tightest security the country has ever seen. The disruption to daily life, caused by this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, has been so massive that President Bush has apologized to the people of Sydney for the inconvenience caused by his visit. Phil Mercer files this report from Sydney.

The visit of President Bush and other world leaders has prompted Australian authorities to mount an unprecedented security operation.

Five thousand police officers and troops are on patrol, along with fighter jets and combat helicopters.

Pedestrians walk through fences that cordon off streets around the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, 05 Sept 2007

In the center of Sydney, a giant steel barrier has been erected to protect key APEC summit sites. Parts of downtown Sydney have been declared no-go zones for the public.

The sweeping measures have caused peak-hour chaos, with angry commuters being met by a raft of road closures. Many residents have asked why the conference was not held in the national capital, Canberra, which has hosted many high-profile visits in the past.

The already tight clampdown has been increased since the arrival of President Bush late Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Mr. Bush told the people of the city he is sorry to be responsible for so much disruption.

"Look, I don't want to come to a community and say, you know, what a pain it is to have the American president. You know, unfortunately, however, this is what the authorities thought was necessary to protect people, and uh, we live in a free, you live in a free society, people feel like they want to protest, fine, they can," said Mr. Bush. "And unfortunately, evidently, some people may want to try to be violent in their protest. But I apologize to the Australian people if I've caused this inconvenience."

Thousands of people are expected to take part in rallies to voice their feelings on a range of issues, from the Iraq war to the environment. They are also demonstrating over a number of domestic issues, including unpopular labor reforms.

Activists have insisted they want to make their point peacefully, but there has been violence at other international gatherings in recent years, and the police are prepared for that eventuality here. The Sydney authorities have cleared out jail cells to be prepared for any mass arrests of protesters.

Even without the protests, such hot issues as climate change and Iraq are expected to be key themes during a week of meetings among APEC officials. The meetings will culminate in the leaders' summit at the end of the week.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is a loose grouping of economies that border the Pacific Ocean. Its 21 members include the United States, China and Japan, and smaller economies in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Bush, Howard Reaffirm Iraq Commitment

By Paula Wolfson Sydney 05 September 2007

Download

U.S. President George Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard have reaffirmed their commitment to Iraq, at a meeting in Sydney. The American leader thanked Mr. Howard for his pledge to keep troops in Iraq - saying there is still plenty of work to do to help reconciliation efforts. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson is traveling with the president and has this report.

President Bush (r) and Australia's Prime Minister John Howard in Sydney, 05 Sep 2007

The two leaders stood side-by-side before reporters - a symbol of the unity they have shown on Iraq.

President Bush said he remains confident real progress is being made in quelling violence, after his stop Monday in Iraq's al-Anbar province - where local Sunni leaders are now allied against al-Qaida militants.

"The province I saw wasn't lost to the extremists," said Mr. Bush. "The place I went had changed dramatically - fundamentally, because the local people took a look at what al-Qaida stands for and said, 'We are not interested in death and destruction.… We don't want to be associated with people who murder the innocent to achieve their objectives.'"

Mr. Bush said the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq has assured him that the security situation is improving and it could lead to withdrawing some of the 30,000 extra U.S. troops sent to Iraq in recent months.

The comments come after the U.S. Government Accountability Office sent a report to the Senate Tuesday noting that the Iraqi government has failed to meet 11 of the 18 military, political, and economic goals set by the United States. It highlights failures in reducing sectarian violence.

White House officials are urging lawmakers to wait for next week's briefings by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus.

Mr. Bush said he will wait for formal recommendations before making any decisions on troops levels, but stressed Iraq still requires intensive international efforts.

"There is plenty of work to be done. But reconciliation is taking place," he said. "And it is important, in my judgment, for the security of America and for the security of Australia, that we hang in there with the Iraqis."

Prime Minister Howard was equally firm in expressing his commitment. He said Australian troops deployed in Iraq - about 1,500 in all, with 550 in combat roles - will remain.

"The basis on which they stay there in cooperation with other members of coalition will not change under a government that I lead," he said. "We believe that progress is being made in Iraq, difficult as it is, and we do not believe this is the time to be sending any proposals for a scaling down of Australian forces."

But many Australians think their forces in Iraq should come home. Opposition leader Kevin Rudd has called for a complete withdrawal, and he is currently ahead in public opinion polls with parliamentary elections expected before the end of the year.

President Bush will meet with Rudd on Thursday. He says he will listen to what the head of Australia's Labor Party has to say.

"I am looking forward to listening to his opinion," Mr. Bush said. "I am also wise enough not to prejudge the election results in Australia."

To underscore his support for Australia's military presence in Iraq, the president went to a Sydney area naval base with the prime minister for lunch with Australian troops. President Bush and Prime Minister Howard also signed a new defense trade treaty designed to reduce barriers to the exchange of defense goods, services and information.

The two met as Sydney began to fill with foreign dignitaries arriving for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this week. Foreign and trade ministers have already opened their discussions, and business leaders are gathering as well for their own regional forum.

Report Says Iraq Fails to Meet Most Benchmarks for Success

By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 04 September 2007

Donwload

A report released Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, says Iraq has failed to meet most of the benchmarks aimed at measuring political, economic and military progress. The report is one of several to be released to Congress in the coming days as growing numbers of lawmakers are calling for a redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

David Walker appears before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to deliver GAO's report on performance of Iraqi government, 04 Sept 2007

The Government Accountability Office says Iraq has met only three of 18 benchmarks, has failed to meet 11 others, and has only partially met four.

The GAO's Comptroller General David Walker presented the findings to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

"Overall, key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend the $10 billion in reconstruction funds it has allocated," he said.

Walker says the goals the Iraqi government has met include establishing joint security stations in Baghdad, ensuring minority rights in the Iraqi legislature and creating support committees for the Baghdad security plan.

Among the benchmarks not met include reducing the level of sectarian violence and eliminating militia control of local security, enacting laws to ease restrictions on former Ba'ath party members from holding public office, and enacting a law to guarantee the equitable distribution of oil resources among the country's ethnic groups.

Critics of the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq were quick to seize on the report's findings. Senator John Kerry is a Massachusetts Democrat:

"It is hard to draw any assessment except there is a failing grade for a policy that is still not working," he noted.

The panels' top Republican, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, suggested the report raises troubling questions about the willingness of Iraqi government officials to forge political reconciliation.

"If the answer ultimately is that Iraqis are really not as concerned about being Iraqis, but only Iraqis if they are in charge, they will continue civil strife, and this is an awesome dilemma," he said.

The White House has acknowledged not all benchmarks have been met, but spokesman Tony Fratto urged lawmakers to wait for next week's report from U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, for a more thorough report on the current status in Iraq.

In addition to that report, retired Marine General James Jones, head of an independent commission set up by Congress, is to brief lawmakers on Iraq security forces later this week.

The series of status reports come as Congress is expected to resume debate on Iraq.

Last month, Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia, an influential member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on President Bush to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by the end of the year.

In a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, called on other Republicans to back Warner's call.

"Everyday we must continue to fight for a sensible, responsible path out of Iraq in order to restore America's national security," he said.

But the Senate's top Republican, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, stopped short of embracing a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal. He said whatever decision is made on U.S. troop levels in Iraq, the United States should keep forces in the region to fight al-Qaida and deter Iran.

"We need a long-term deployment, somewhere in the Middle East in the future for two reasons: al-Qaida and Iran," he said.

President Bush, on an unannounced visit to Iraq Monday, cited progress in the security situation in Anbar province and raised the prospect of fewer U.S. troops in Iraq if such progress continues.

Israel's Supreme Court Orders Changes in West Bank Barrier

By Robert Berger Jerusalem 04 September 2007

Download

Israel's construction of a controversial separation barrier in the occupied West Bank has suffered a legal setback in the nation's highest court. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israel says the barrier is a security measure, while Palestinians describe it as a land grab.

Palestinian boy holds a flag in West Bank village of Bilin as an Israeli army vehicle passes by a section of separation barrier, 04 Sept 2007

Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the state to redraw the route of its West Bank separation barrier near the Palestinian village of Bilin. When the decision was announced, residents came out to the fence to celebrate.

"They demolished the Berlin wall, we want to demolish the Bilin wall," the residents chanted.

Palestinian residents had petitioned the Supreme Court, charging that the barrier kept them from their fields and orchards. The court rejected the state's argument that the route of the barrier, through Bilin's lands, was necessary to protect a nearby settlement from Palestinian attacks.

Israeli lawyer Michael Sfarad represented the Palestinians. He says the victory belongs to many people, referring to the weekly and often violent protests at the village, which became a symbol of resistance to the barrier. Left-wing Israelis demonstrated alongside Palestinians.

One Palestinian villager said the great achievement is that Jews and Arabs worked together to bring justice.

But many Israelis are unhappy with the Supreme Court decision. Analyst Dan Schueftan says the barrier keeps suicide bombers out of Israel, and the sooner it is built the better.

"So when you prevent the Palestinians from perpetrating suicide terrorism, and this should stop most of them, not all of them, then you are succeeding in a major way to curb terrorism," he said.

Israel began building the barrier during the height of Israeli-Palestinian violence in 2002. But legal obstacles and bureaucracy have slowed construction, and five years later, less than two-thirds of the project is complete.

UN's Ban Ki-moon Supports Sudan Comprehensive Peace Plan

By Lisa Schlein Juba, Sudan 04 September 2007

Download

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he fully supports the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended Sudan's decades-long civil war. He says he told southern Sudan's president that the CPA is essential for achieving peace throughout the country. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Juba, Sudan.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, with Sudan's Vice President Salva Kiir

Juba was in a festive mood. The people of the city came out in large numbers to welcome the U.N. leader with song and dance as he began a tightly packed day of official meetings and public speeches. Mr. Ban's first stop was the tomb of the former leader of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army, John Garang. He died in a plane crash shortly after becoming President of southern Sudan in 2005.

In a subsequent meeting with Salva Kiir, who assumed the presidency after Mr. Garang's death, Mr. Ban invoked Mr. Garang's name and memory to pledge his support for the successful implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

"John Garang was a great leader. He was a man of uncommon vision. A man determined to unify this country. The CPA is the lasting vision of John Garang. It is now the duty of people in the North and South and the international community and the United Nations to implement this CPA as soon as possible," he said.

The peace agreement, signed between the northern Islamist government and the southern rebels in 2005, provided for the creation of a unity government as well as power and wealth sharing arrangements. But officials in south Sudan say efforts to implement key parts of the accord with the Sudanese government have failed, and they have called on the international community to intervene.

President Kiir welcomed the Secretary-General and said he was pleased that he came to Juba to see for himself the situation on the ground. "What I would just want to tell you is that I have briefed him about the progress that we have made and of issues that we have postponed, that we have not foreseen. He has taken note of what we have noted," he said.

Later in the day, the Secretary-General told a group of students that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is the blueprint for long-term peace in the country. At an address at Juba University, he told the students they represent the promise of a new Sudan, a country at peace.

He said it was they who, ultimately, will work to build a lasting peace.

Hurricanes Henriette, Felix Slam Ashore in Latin America

By Brian Wagner Miami 04 September 2007

Download

Two hurricanes have hit Latin America within the span of a few hours, with Henriette charging ashore on Mexico's Baja California peninsula and Felix slamming into Central America. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports.

Hurricane Felix makes landfall in northeastern Nicaragua, 04 Sep 2007

Hurricane Felix made landfall as a category five storm, with heavy rainfall and maximum sustained winds of 260 kilometers per hour. Weather forecasters said the storm had weakened after the eye came ashore, and said it would continue to lose strength during the next day or two.

Meteorologist Dennis Feltgen of the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm will cause heavy rains and possible flooding as it moves over mountainous areas.

"You have all this moisture all this tropical energy which is being released as the hurricane breaks up over the land area," said Feltgen. "So it creates this heavy rain event, where we expect up to two feet [60 centimeters of rain] or even slightly greater amounts in some of the higher terrain of the mountains."

The hurricane first hit land in remote, swampy areas of the Miskito Coast, and moved through villages further inland. Officials in Honduras and Nicaragua moved thousands of residents and tourists into shelters, and evacuated others from flood-prone areas ahead of the storm.

U.S. military officials said a Chinook helicopter was flown in to evacuate 19 American citizens from the Honduran island of Roatan on Monday. Military officials say a team has been in Belize since Hurricane Dean hit the area two weeks ago. It is assessing damage from the storm and helping organize rebuilding efforts.

Hurricane Dean also was rated a category five storm when it came ashore along the border of Mexico and Belize on the Yucatan peninsula. Meteorologist Feltgen said it is the first time two hurricanes of that strength have made landfall in the same season.

"Since our records began in the late 19th century, we have no record of two land-falling category five hurricanes in the same season," he said. "Nor do we have any record of the first two hurricanes of the same season developing into category five hurricanes."

Feltgen says it is impossible to predict if other hurricanes will develop in the Atlantic region in coming months, but he says forecasters expect storm activity this year to be above average.

In the Pacific Ocean, forecasters are tracking Hurricane Henriette which is moving north, near Mexico's western coast.

VOASE0904_Explorations

04 September 2007

Yellowstone National Park: Great Beauty, and a Sleeping Volcano
Some experts say the ancient volcano that formed Yellowstone could become very dangerous in the future.

Download
Download

VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

An eruption of the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park in 2006

And this is Doug Johnson with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Yellowstone National Park. It is one of the most beautiful national parks in the United States. However, an ancient and extremely violent volcano created the great beauty of Yellowstone. The ancient volcano that formed Yellowstone is not dead. It is only sleeping. And some experts say it could become very dangerous in the future.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Yellowstone National Park is in the western state of Wyoming. It is one of the most unusual places in the world. Extremely hot water shoots out of the ground in several hundred places. Small lakes contain water that is so hot it is dangerous to come too close.

Visitors can watch bubbles coming up through boiling hot mud. They can see rocks that were once liquid and have cooled into strange shapes.

Yellowstone is built on an ancient volcano. A lake of hot liquid rock is about six kilometers under the park. This lake is about sixty-five kilometers wide. Experts say this lake is under huge amounts of pressure. The pressure and heat cause hot water to shoot out of the ground and mud to boil at Yellowstone.

VOICE TWO:

The Yellowstone volcano has often been called a super volcano because it is so big. Scientists believe major volcanic activity in the Yellowstone area began about two million years ago. This activity created violent explosions and built mountains and valleys. Experts believe this super volcano had three major explosions called eruptions. Each of those three eruptions may have been more powerful than any in recorded history.

Each eruption threw out millions of tons of ash and rock. The last eruption was so huge it covered much of North America with ash. Some of this ash traveled high into the atmosphere and was carried by strong winds around the world.

This cloud of volcanic ash circled the Earth many times. It affected the climate by limiting the amount of sunlight that reached Earth’s lower atmosphere and surface. This last eruption formed the mountains and valleys that visitors can see today in Yellowstone.

VOICE ONE:

When a volcano erupts, a huge amount of material explodes out of the volcano. This leaves a giant circular hole in the ground, called a caldera. Experts have known for many years that Yellowstone was formed by volcanic activity. However they could not find the caldera. Many experts searched a huge area in and around Yellowstone Park looking for the remains of the caldera. A few years ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency tested new satellite cameras. They offered Yellowstone Park officials photographs of the park taken from space.

VOICE TWO:

A national park expert was extremely surprised when he looked at the photographs taken from space. He immediately saw the caldera they had been searching for. The photographs showed that Yellowstone National Park is the caldera. The caldera is about seventy kilometers long and thirty kilometers wide.

In fact, the park is a system of calderas formed within the past sixteen million years. Experts now believe that as many fifteen or twenty smaller eruptions also formed calderas.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Scientists know the volcanic heart of Yellowstone is deep within the Earth. This area is called a hot spot. It is only one of a few such places on Earth.

Extreme pressure deep in the Earth forces liquid rock up through the hot spot to the lake of hot material that is below the surface. This causes the extreme heat that is found in Yellowstone.

Scientists also know the Yellowstone hot spot is linked to the activity of the North American plate. The North American plate is one of several plates that make up the surface of the Earth. These plates move a few centimeters each year. The hot spot does not move. Very often the action between the hot spots and the plate causes great earthquakes as plates move against each other. The plates often split apart. And often after earthquakes, the hot spot forces liquid rock to the surface. This has not happened for several thousand years.

VOICE TWO:

The Yellowstone hot spot has been linked with the North American plate for as long as seventeen million years. At many different times, the hot spot has caused a kind of liquid rock called basalt to explode to the surface.

This basalt rock from the Yellowstone hot spot can be found in the western states of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Idaho. Evidence of this basalt rock can be found in an area as large as three hundred twenty-two thousand square kilometers.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Yellowstone National Park is the oldest national park in the world. About three million people visit it each year. Its great natural beauty has made it one of the most popular national parks.

Most visitors like to see “Old Faithful,” the world’s most famous geyser. A geyser shoots hot water high into the air. There are more than three hundred geysers in Yellowstone.

Old Faithful is not the biggest or the most beautiful geyser. But it is the most popular. Visitors gather around Old Faithful before each eruption. Experts at the park are able to predict when these will happen. The average time between eruptions is about ninety minutes. Old Faithful shoots water an average of forty meters into the air. This eruption lasts between two and five minutes. Old Faithful releases up to about thirty thousand liters of water into the air each time.

VOICE TWO:

The hot spot deep under the ground produces geysers like Old Faithful. Old Faithful is evidence of the volcanic activity at Yellowstone. But will the Yellowstone volcano erupt again? Most experts think the answer is yes. But no one knows when. The most recent of the three extremely powerful eruptions was about six hundred fifty thousand years ago.

Experts say at least thirty smaller volcanic eruptions have taken place at Yellowstone. Some of these were perhaps as big as the nineteen ninety-one eruption at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. Several are believed to have been much larger. The most recent of these smaller eruptions took place about seventy thousand years ago.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Volcano experts say it is extremely difficult to tell when Yellowstone might become an active volcano again. However, earthquakes near a volcano are usually good evidence that a volcano might become active again. For example, Mount Saint Helens in the northwestern state of Washington exploded in nineteen eighty. Several earthquakes took place near the volcano before that time. On the morning that it exploded, Mount Saint Helens experienced an earthquake of five point one on the Richter scale.

Yellowstone National Park experiences several thousand earthquakes each year. Most are very small. They cannot be felt. They can only be measured by scientific instruments. However, in August of nineteen fifty-nine, an earthquake at Yellowstone measured seven point five on the Richter scale. Twenty-eight people were killed.

It was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the United States. But Yellowstone’s sleeping giant volcano did not erupt.

VOICE TWO:

In two thousand one, the United States Geological Survey, Yellowstone National Park and the University of Utah signed an agreement.

That agreement established the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Under the agreement, the park, the Geological Survey and the university are responsible for improving efforts to study the volcanic system of Yellowstone.

The observatory uses information from many different instruments on the ground and from satellites to study the volcano. The information will help officials decided if Yellowstone’s huge volcano is becoming a danger. Then they could warn the public quickly if necessary.

Experts at the observatory say Yellowstone represents some danger to the public. It always has. However, its natural beauty also makes it a treasure that could not be possible without the sleeping giant volcano that is under Yellowstone National Park.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Mario Ritter. This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program in VOA Special English.

VOASE0904_Health Report

04 September 2007

Parents Warned on Use of Cough and Cold Medicines in Children
A drug safety committee will meet next month in US to discuss whether the products are worth possible risks.

Download
Download

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

How safe and effective is the use of cough and cold medicines in children? An advisory committee of the United States Food and Drug Administration will meet in October to discuss this issue.

There are questions about the safety of cough and cold medicine use in children

Some doctors say cough and cold products do not work in children, and they worry about possible risks. F.D.A. officials say that some reports of problems appear to be the result of giving too much medicine to children. This may lead to serious and life-threatening side effects, especially in children age two and younger.

The products are sold without the need for a doctor's approval. Yet cough and cold medicines can be harmful if people take them more often or in greater amounts than they should. There is a risk, for example, in taking more than one product containing the same active chemicals.

Too much cold medicine may affect the heart. Some medicines have also been linked to high blood pressure and strokes.

Products for children may contain medicines that were approved many years ago based on studies in adults. The drug approval process has changed since then.

F.D.A. officials have this warning for parents: Do not use cough and cold products in children under two years of age unless a health care provider tells you to.

The officials also have other advice. For example, children should never be given medicines that are meant for adults. Cough and cold medicines are sold in different strengths. Ask a medical professional if you are not sure about the right product for a child.

If a child is being given other medicines, the child's health care provider should approve their combined use.

Read all the information and warnings provided with a drug and carefully follow the directions for use.

For liquid products, use the dropper or other measuring device that comes with the medicine or buy the correct one at a drug store. Do not use household spoons; they could provide the wrong amount of medicine.

The F.D.A points out that children get better with time and that cough and cold medicines only treat signs of the common cold. They are not a cure. If a child's condition gets worse or does not improve, stop using the product and have the child examined immediately.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Barbara Klein.