UN Security Council Approves International Force for Afghanistan
Breck Ardery
United Nations
20 Dec 2001 21:25 UTC
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution authorizing an international security force for Afghanistan.
The resolution authorizes the force for a six-month period to assist the interim Afghan government in providing security in and around the Afghan capital of Kabul. The resolution calls on all Afghans to cooperate with the security force and notes that all Afghan parties have agreed to withdraw their military units from Kabul.
Jeremy Greenstock
Britain will be leading the force and British ambassador Jeremy Greenstock told reporters the first group of troops will arrive in Kabul in time for the official start of the interim government on Saturday. "The United Kingdom is ready to go," he said. "We will have a small number of troops on the ground on the day, Saturday, in Kabul. The full British contingent will be in place a certain number of days thereafter."
Mr. Greenstock said if the interim government decides it wants the security force to deploy outside of the Kabul area, it would require a additional Security Council resolution.
AP
John Negroponte
United States ambassador John Negroponte said U.S. military forces will continue to operate in Afghanistan but not as part of the security force. "Our forces are there with a particular set of responsibilities, which is to root out the al-Qaida and fight against the remnant elements of the Taleban. In other words a war-fighting mission," he said.
Mr. Negroponte indicated that there should be no conflict between the mission of U.S. forces and the international security troops in Afghanistan.
DEVELOPMENT REPORT: Tuberculosis Control Program in India
By Jill Moss
Broadcast: December 9, 2002
This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
There are more people with tuberculosis in India than in any other country in the world. Each year, tuberculosis infects about two-million people in India and kills nearly five-hundred-thousand people. However, this is starting to change. Researchers
recently studied a tuberculosis control program in India. The study says the program has saved about two-hundred-thousand lives and more than four-hundred-million dollars.
The New England Journal of Medicine published a study about the tuberculosis control program in October. The Indian government started the program in nineteen-ninety-three. Since that time, about three-and-one-half million patients have been examined for tuberculosis. Almost eight-hundred-thousand patients have received medical treatment.
Also, more than forty percent of India's population can now get tuberculosis services. And more than two-hundred-thousand health workers have been trained to examine and treat people with the disease. This makes India's tuberculosis control program one of the world's largest public health programs.
Thomas Frieden of the United States was one of the people who wrote the study. He says that India's tuberculosis control program has strengthened the country's general health care system. For example, he says the quality of work done in laboratories has improved.
However, Doctor Frieden says the program includes only half of India. He says the goal is to continue the program while extending it to the rest of the country. Doctor Frieden believes this will be difficult because of health threats from the virus that causes AIDS and because some forms of tuberculosis are resistant to drugs.
Currently, the World Health Organization estimates that about one-third of the world's population are infected with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. Tuberculosis becomes active in only about ten percent of all cases. However, it can remain in a victim's lungs for years or even a lifetime.
Infected people spread tuberculosis by releasing particles from their mouths when they cough, sneeze, spit or talk. Signs of the disease include high body temperature and coughing.
A person with active T-B must take medicine each day for six to nine months to halt progression of the disease.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.
China launched its fourth unmanned spacecraft, the "Shenzhou IV" early today morning (Monday) at the Jiuquan satellite Launch Centre in northwest China's Gansu Province.
The "Shenzhou IV" was sent into a preset orbit by a "Long March II F" carrier rocket.
Leading scientists in charge of China's manned space program say the successful launch of the "Shenzhou IV" lays a solid foundation for the country's future task of sending astronauts into space.
The orbiting spacecraft is expected to return to Earth after completing its preset experiments in space during an unspecified period.
***
The State Power Corporation of China has completed its restructuring as 11 companies have formally been established in Beijing.
This symbolizes the realization of the separation of power production and power transmission grid of the world’s largest power enterprise and the introduction of competition system in China's power industry.
Minister of State Development Planning Commission Zeng Peiyan said the new corporations should have a stable transition in their operation according to the market demand.
The 11 companies include State Power Grid, Southern Power Grid, five power production groups such as Huaneng and Datang corporations and four business companies such as China’s Power Engineering Consulting group.
The State Council has also decided to establish a regulatory Commission to supervise fair competition and issue licenses to operators.
***
A railway official predicts that an estimated 130 million people will travel by train in China between January 17 and February 25 next year.
The official with the Transport Bureau of China's Ministry of Railways says the figure will be 1.7 million, or 1 percent, more than the number of passenger flow in the similar festival railway traffic this year.
The majority of passengers will be students, migrant workers and tourists.
The ministry has mapped out three plans for festival transport, including the operation of additional trains for students and migrant workers.
***
Officials say train fares are to be increased during the Spring Festival holiday period between January 17 and February 25 next year.
Fares will be raised by 15 to 20 percent, depending on the type of service passengers select.
***
China’s mobile phone users have sent a total of 90 billion short messages this year. The figure represents revenues of over 1 billion US dollars, and doesn’t include the more costly bell rings, jokes and images downloaded via short messages.
By the end of November this year, there were 200 million mobile phone users in China. Sending short messages has become one of the most convenient ways to exchange information and send greetings.
***
One of China's two fixed-line carriers, China Netcom says it expects revenue this year to rise to about 8 billion US dollars.
China Netcom says it adds more than ten and a half million fixed line subscribers this year, taking its total to around 78 million.
The company expects to add a further 11 million subscribers next year as well as 10 million internet users and one million broadband users.
China Netcom has so far set up eight subsidiaries in southern China.
***
China has approved Espoo-based Elcoteq's purchase of IBM's ownership in two Chinese electronics manufacturing companies.
Under the deal, Elcoteq will pay around 37 million US dollars in cash for the 70 percent-stake currently held by Armonk, New York-based IBM in Shenzhen GKI Electronics and Beijing GKI Electronics, along with the licensing arrangements.
Elcoteq says it also has agreed to explore opportunities for extensive cooperation in telecom products and applications with IBM.
Elcoteq is one of the biggest electronics manufacturing services companies in Europe.
***
Beijing-based Huaxia Bank has been given approval for an A-share initial public offering by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
It said the approval was given at a listing committee hearing on Christmas Day.
The official launch date of the IPO is not yet known.
Bank of China International and China Southern Securities are the issue's joint underwriters.
***
US fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has recently opened its first drive-in restaurant in China's capital Beijing, a city with 620,000 private cars.
The restaurant has a 100-meter drive-in lane, separate windows to order and pick up food, and eye-catching signboards.
KFC says a driver will need only four minutes to order, pay the bill, pick up his finger lickin' good chicken, and get back on the road.
The Ministry of Health says China strongly opposes the idea of human cloning, and will not support, allow or accept such attempts.
French scientists claimed on Friday that a 31-year-old American woman had given birth to a cloned baby late Thursday morning.
Chinese scientists, as well as experts around the world, have cast doubt on the validity of the news.
A White House spokesman said President George Bush believed the news was "deeply troubling" and strongly supported legislation by Congress to ban all human cloning.
*****
Officials say train fares are to be increased during the Spring Festival holiday period between January 17 and February 25 next year.
Fares will be raised by 15 to 20 percent, depending on the type of service passengers select.
Experts forecast that a total of 130 million passengers will travel by train during that time, up about 1.6 million on the same period last year.
*****
US-based Leprino Foods Compnay, one of the US’s largest cheese production enterprises, been approved by the local government to build a cheese producing base in China's Hebei Province.
Cheese is a popular dairy product throughout the world. However, Chinese people have only begun to take a liking to cheese in recent years and the market is still in its infancy in China.
Leprino Foods is expected to produce 60,000 tons of high quality cheese per year in China when the base is up and running.
*****
Children obesity always arouses concerns, at the same time in many cities, more and more school kids are suffering a higher rate of malnutrition. In Beijing alone, the rate of malnutrition among school children is nearly 20 percent, higher than that of obesity.
Experts say although people’s standard of living is increasing, many parents lack adequate nutrition knowledge and fail to provide a well-balanced diet for their children.
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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