Literacy

Morocco will this weekend become the first Arab country to hold summit-level talks with the European Union when it meets the 27-nation bloc in Spain, which holds the EU presidency, officials said.

'Precious' wins big at 41st NAACP Image Awards, with trophies for writer, director and stars. It was a winning night for "Precious" at the 41st NAACP Image Awards.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with a limited vocabulary at the age of 5 may be at increased risk of poor literacy as adults, a study published Monday suggests.

In first grade at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Albert Gayzagian learned to read and write in Braille, and more than 70 years later, the excitement was still fresh. ``I was in the washroom in our cottage and I can still remember jumping up and down and saying over and over again, `I'm learning to read, I'm learning to read,' '' he said in a 2005 interview as part of an oral history of the school. ``I guess I must have picked up the idea that it was a great and important thing to do, and I remember it to this day.'' Using that first breakthrough as a foundation, he blazed trails for the sightless in the workplace and on the boards of organizations. Mr. Gayzagian, who died Monday, was 83 and had lived in Watertown nearly all his life. ``Al Gayzagian is one of the most truly extraordinary people I've ever encountered,'' said Steven M. Rothstein, president of the Perkins School in Watertown. ``No other person that I can think of has had such depth and range of impact on so

In first grade at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Albert Gayzagian learned to read and write in Braille, and more than 70 years later, the excitement was still fresh. ``I was in the washroom in our cottage and I can still remember jumping up and down and saying over and over again, `I'm learning to read, I'm learning to read,' '' he said in a 2005 interview as part of an oral history of the school. ``I guess I must have picked up the idea that it was a great and important thing to do, and I remember it to this day.'' Using that first breakthrough as a foundation, he blazed trails for the sightless in the workplace and on the boards of organizations. Mr. Gayzagian, who died Monday, was 83 and had lived in Watertown nearly all his life. ``Al Gayzagian is one of the most truly extraordinary people I've ever encountered,'' said Steven M. Rothstein, president of the Perkins School in Watertown. ``No other person that I can think of has had such depth and range of impact on so

`Precious' leads NAACP Image Award nominees with nods for the film, its stars and director. The heart-wrenching story of an illiterate and abused Harlem teen who finds hope in a classroom of misfits tops nominees for the 41st annual NAACP Image Awards.

On the wall of Le Pelican cafe in Kabul's dusty suburbs are photographs showing a baker's dozen of Afghan children beaming over a tray of pastries fresh out of the huge industrial oven behind them.

On the wall of Le Pelican cafe in Kabul's dusty suburbs are photographs showing a baker's dozen of Afghan children beaming over a tray of pastries fresh out of the huge industrial oven behind them.

The governor of this remote district in southern Afghanistan has employees he can't afford to pay, a school he struggles to staff with teachers, a clinic where doctors are scarce and a police force of mostly illiterate farmers.

Troops, Taliban race to win over Afghans in remote districts beset by poverty. The governor of this remote district in southern Afghanistan has employees he can't afford to pay, a school he struggles to staff with teachers, a clinic where doctors are scarce and a police force of mostly illiterate farmers.

George Clooney and Penelope Cruz topped the list of Hollywood celebrities nominated Thursday for the 16th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards, unique as the honors in which actors toast their own.

Nominees for best male actor in a leading movie role included Morgan Freeman for "Invictus," Clint Eastwood's drama about former South African President Nelson Mandela's efforts to unite the apartheid-scarred country around the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Laredo could soon be largest US city without a single bookstore; B. Dalton to close next month. The final chapter has been written for the lone bookstore on the streets of Laredo.

A high school diploma at 15 and a bachelor's degree at 16: precocious teenager Marian Kogler has now become Austria's youngest master's graduate at the age of 17.

US Marines grapple to bolster Afghan police force manned by illiterate farmers. The U.S. Marines were tense looking for bombs buried near a mud compound in this remote farming town in southern Afghanistan. Their new Afghan police colleagues were little help, joking around and sucking on lollipops meant for local kids.

Senior US diplomat Richard Holbrooke has acknowledged that institution-building in Afghanistan would have to start "from scratch" in the ninth year of engagement, in an interview published Wednesday.

Senior US diplomat Richard Holbrooke has acknowledged that institution-building in Afghanistan would have to start "from scratch" in the ninth year of engagement, in an interview published Wednesday.

Angola's president Monday called for greater efforts to fight poverty, acknowledging that 60 percent of the nation lives in desperate conditions despite oil riches that have powered an economic boom.

Laccho Bai's life has gone from bad to worse in the 25 years since the Bhopal gas tragedy, when fumes escaped from a pesticide plant in the central Indian city, killing thousands instantly.

Washington state's 2-year colleges report second year of record enrollment. Washington's community and technical colleges are reporting a second straight year of record enrollment.