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.
A senior Party leader has called for continued efforts to fight corruption and improve relations between the Party and the general public.
Wu Guanzheng, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Politburo, says the Party must make great efforts to improve its work style to contribute to the ongoing reforms and tasks of building an affluent society.
He adds that though corrupt elements account for only a very small percentage of the Party membership, the negative social impact is enormous.
The official vows to continue the war against corruption and work harder to safeguard the legitimate interests of the masses, by expanding democracy and creating a better legal system.
***
China and Myanmar have signed three documents including a protocol writing off debts owed to Beijing by its southern neighbor.
The documents were signed after visiting Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing held talks with General Khin Nyunt, First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar.
During the talks, Li Lanqing put forward suggestions on strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Khin Nyunt expressed hope that China will continue to give support to Myanmar.
***
The first ever indirect cross-Straits charter flights have received the cold shoulder from passengers.
The public's ambivalence to the ground-breaking service is mainly caused by an unnecessary stopover in Hong Kong or Macao.
Of the 1,600 tickets available on the 16 planned flights, only 600 have been taken.
The charter flights will be available from January 26th to February 10th, with tickets prices ranging from about 450 US dollars to 700 US dollars.
***
China is improving the safety of its domestic food market with the help of a new quality control system.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine has issued permits to over 1,300 companies for the processing of five kinds of food, including rice, flour, cooking oil, soy sauce and vinegar.
From the beginning of August this year, other companies will be forbidden from processing these foods. The Quarantine administration vows to expand the system to include other foods, including meat products, milk products, seasonings, and beverages.
***
Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse is expected to make a lucrative return to the screen, and his personal value should swell to 4.5 million yuan. This would be an increase of 1.5 million yuan on his value before he was jailed.
Media Asia is reported to have asked Nicholas Tse to act in a car-racing movie. Other film and advertising companies from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong as well as international companies have also placed their trust in the law-breaking actor even after he was voted the most notorious celebrity in a survey by Hong Kong media.
However, Nicholas has yet to choose which company he will use to launch his comeback.
***
Chinese Director Zhang Yimou's martial arts epic "Hero" has become the country's highest-grossing domestic film.
Its distributor says the movie has raked in 24 million US dollars at the box office after just a month in theaters.
The previous record for a Chinese movie was held by an anti-corruption film "Live or Die" with 14.5 million US dollars.
"Hero" cost 31 million US dollars to produce, making it the most expensive Chinese film ever.
It's competing this Sunday at the Golden Globe Awards in the foreign-language category, and will compete for the Golden Bear Awards next month at Berlin International Film Festival.
The film is also China's submission for best foreign-language film at the Academy Awards.
Miramax plans to release "Hero" in the United States later this year.
China's taxation authority says the country's total tax revenue in 2002 topped 1.7 trillion yuan, or about 205 billion US dollars, an increase of 12 percent over the previous year.
The Commissioner of the State Administration of Taxation says the 2002 ratio of tax revenue to GDP reached nearly 17 percent, a year-on-year growth of one percentage point.
*****
The People's Bank of China has announced a procedure for reporting large-sum and suspicious payment trading in the Chinese currency Renminbi.
A spokesman for the bank says the procedure will better supervise large-scale transactions, standardize their reports, and discourage money laundering and other criminal activities conducted by means of payments and clearing money through banks.
He says RMB payment trading refers to money payments and capital clearing by both institutions and individuals in their social and economic activities.
The procedure will come into effect from March 1st, this year.
*****
Relaxed travel restrictions have led to a boom in the number of Chinese going out of the country for personal reasons. In 2002 alone, the number of going out and coming in of the country was reported to be 19 million, a 50 percent increase on the previous year.
The most popular destinations for Chinese mainland residents include China's Hong Kong and Macao, as well as Japan, Russia, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, North Korea and the US.
*****
The China Nuclear Engineering Corporation says the country has now mastered advanced administrative production methods in nuclear plant construction.
Over recent years, China has made great advances in nuclear plant construction.
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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