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Dec.19th, 200
来自 | 撰写| 12月19日
UN Establishes Afghan Government Fund
Breck Ardery
United Nations
19 Dec 2001 12:34 UTC
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The United Nations has established a special fund to assist in the start-up of the new interim government in Afghanistan.
The fund, expected to amount to as much as $20 million, will be used to provide basic needs to the new Afghan authorities that formally take office this Saturday. The money will be used to pay staff salaries and buy supplies such as office equipment, furniture and vehicles.
The fund, which will be administered by the U.N. Development Program, will also support the initial establishment of civil service, judicial and human rights commissions in Afghanistan as well as pay teachers' salaries. Julia Taft, the assistant administrator of the Development Program, told reporters that, although the money will be disbursed by the United Nations, the decisions on how to spend it will be made by the Afghans. "The whole philosophy is that the Afghans themselves must be in charge of their future," she said. "So to the extent we can help under-gird their ability to do that, we want to do that with their guidance, their involvement."
Ms. Taft says the start-up fund for Afghanistan will be operational for just six months and is not intended for reconstruction activities. The U.N. Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, praised the fund as an indication that the international community is committed to an "independent and sustainable" government in Afghanistan.
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Two studies are adding to the debate about the health risks of eating fish containing high levels of the metal mercury. One study suggests that people who eat fish high in mercury may increase their risk of having a heart attack. Yet another study found no link between mercury and heart disease.
Both studies were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in November.
Mercury is a natural element. Some bodies of water have become polluted with mercury. High levels of the metal have been found in large fish, such as king mackerel, shark and swordfish. Scientists say mercury can be harmful to people. For example, it can harm the developing brain of a fetus or child. So some experts say that pregnant women should avoid eating fish containing high levels of mercury.
However, the American Heart Association and other experts have advised Americans to eat fish at least two times a week. Fish contains important substances, including omega-three fatty acids. These are believed to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland organized one of the new studies. They examined medical records of more than one-thousand-four-hundred men from Israel and eight European countries. They compared men who had suffered a heart attack with healthy men.
The scientists examined mercury levels in the men by studying toenail particles from the men's feet. The study found that mercury levels in the men who had a heart attack were fifteen percent higher than those with no history of heart disease. It also showed that men with the highest mercury levels were about two times more likely to have a heart attack than men with
the lowest levels.
However, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health in Cambridge, Massachusetts disputes the findings. The Harvard scientists compared two groups of about five-hundred American men. All the men in one group had suffered a heart attack. The other men showed no evidence of heart disease. The Harvard scientists also examined toenail particles for mercury. They found no link between mercury and the risk of heart disease.
Many doctors say people should not stop eating fish because of concerns about mercury.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by George Grow.
China says its industrial development has maintained good momentum this year with major economic indices better than expected.
A recent economic and trade working conference says for the first eleven months of this year, industrial enterprises in China with fixed assets of above 600 thousand US dollars saw a 12 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, industrial investment, exports and consumption also increased dramatically, with the quality of economic development on the rise.
***
China aims to achieve a 10 percent increase in revenue of large-scale industries, investment for company reconstruction and in retailing next year.
Minister of Economic and Trade Commission Li Rongrong has outlined the economic objectives at the annual Economic and Trade Conference in Beijing.
The minister says China will focus on reform and regrouping of its enterprises, continue to nurture giant companies and retool the electrical power and gold industries.
***
A senior official says the Chinese government continues to increase investment and spending in medical and health services. Total investment in medical and health services reached 56 million US dollars in 2000, accounting for over 5 percent of GDP.
Health Minister Zhang Wenkang says China has established an urban medical service network that caters for the people's medical needs. At present, the life expectancy of the average Chinese person is 71, significantly higher than the world average.
He also says the Chinese government will continue to increase investment in medical and health services.
***
The number of internet users in China has reached 58 million, doubling last year's total and making the country second only to the US in terms of the number of web surfers.
Figures released at an Information Forum show that young men are the primary driving force of Chinese internet penetration, and that they come from a wide variety of occupations.
***
China's central bank has issued an additional regulation concerning the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme or QFII, clarifying key procedural matters when banks apply for a custodian's role.
The government unveiled the long-awaited reform earlier last month, allowing foreigners, through such QFIIs, to trade in China’s A share market, which is reserved for domestic investors only.
The People's Bank of China emphasized that only a single branch of a foreign bank operating in China may apply for QFII custodianship. Domestic Chinese banks and China-incorporated foreign-owned or joint venture banks must apply through their headquarters in China.
Applicants need to prepare documents, including a formal application signed by their headquarters, operational procedures, risk and returns assessments.
The regulation also applies to branches of commercial banks from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan Province.
***
Air China has been awarded with an ISO9001:2000 quality system certificate by British Standard Institution Pacific Limited and the Civil Aviation Heartfelt Quality Certification Company.
The ISO certification is recognition that Air China has made significant progress in introducing advanced management skills and that it is catching up with international standards.
Air China spent one and a half years setting up a quality management system to meet aviation transport demands.
***
China has agreed to give Malaysia Airlines landing rights to another 10 destinations.
Under an air agreement signed between the two countries, five additional destinations will take immediate effect and another five will be added from 2005.
Thailand Transport Ministry says the increase in landing rights for cargo as well as passengers between Malaysia and China would be sizeable.
Currently, Malaysia Airlines flies to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Kunming and Shenzhen.
***
US stocks slid for a second straight day on Wednesday, as rising tensions over Iraq's arms declaration pushed market gauges to an all month low. Losses at US chipmaker Micron Technology Incorporated also dragged shares down.
The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index closed at its lowest for a month, down over two percent at 1361.
And The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over one percent to finish at 8447.
Stocks also ended lower on the European markets. The technology sector was weakest, following gloomy news from Micron Technology and Dutch group ASML.
London's FTSE-100 index lost nearly two percent to finish at 3835. Paris's CAC 40 closed down nearly two percent to 3077 while Frankfurt's DAX index in Germany ended down over three and a half percent to finish the session at 3022.
Bank of China Hong Kong Limited has initiated a large-scale promotion of the first ever RMB credit card issued in Hong Kong.
The promotion of Great Wall Cards aims at attracting more frequent travelers between Hong Kong and the mainland.
The bank says 10,000 of the cards, which are widely recognized on the mainland, have been issued in Hong Kong so far.
An increasing number of Hong Kong people have been traveling to the mainland for work, business, sightseeing and shopping with China's entry into the WTO.
*****
China says its industrial development has maintained good momentum this year with major economic indices better than expected.
A recent economic and trade working conference says for the first eleven months of this year, industrial enterprises in China with fixed assets of above 600 thousand US dollars saw a 12 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
*****
China's National Social Security Fund Council has chosen six fund managers to manage assets from the social security fund.
Under the regulations of the Council, each fund manager will be allowed to invest no more than 20 percent of the money allocated by the Social Security Fund for investment in the stock market.
The National Social Security Fund was set up in 2000 to supplement provincial and social security systems and help fund social security programmes.
*****
The global average surface temperature this year will surpass last year to make 2002 the second warmest year on record.
Experts of the World Meteorological Organization say the ten warmest years have all occurred since 1987, with 1998 topping the chart.
Also, the extent of the sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean in September 2002 is lower than that in any previous September since 1978.
According to a statement on the Global Climate in 2002 El Nino conditions returned to the tropical Pacific over the course of 2002.
*****
The world-renowned singing group, The Platters, will perform at Beijing's Poly Theatre on New Year's Eve to mark the 10th birthday of Beijing Music Radio.
Formed in the US in the 1960s, the band shot to fame with the hit, "Only You", which established its fame during the 1960s and 1970s.
It was the first black act to enjoy chart-topping success.
Don't be left out in the cold. 別被冷落。
*******************************************************************************************
1--Do you want black or white coffee?
2--White, please.
1--Look! There's a folk concert tomorrow evening.
Do you want to go?
2--I don't like folk music very much.
1--What kind of music do you like?
2--I like classical music. Do you?
1--Not very much. Classical music sends me to sleep.
2--I don't believe you.
1--It's true.
2--You are funny!
1--So are you! How about another coffee?
===================================
注解：
1）black or white coffee：加糖或加牛奶的称作white
coffee.什么也不加的称作black coffee.
2）folk concert：民间音乐会。folk作“民间的”、
“具有民族传说的”解。如folk dance，folk music,
folk songs, folk tale等。
3）classical：经典的。如classical music, classical
literature等。
4）How about...?（你以为）...怎么样？征询对方的意见时
常用的句型。如，征询关于时间安排的意见时，可以说How
about tomorrow？征询活动内容时可以说How about playing
tennis now?征询人选意见可以说How about Jane?等
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