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.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson says ambassadors of the 19-member organization have failed to reach a deal for making plans to protect NATO-member Turkey in the event of a US war on Iraq.
Robertson says NATO will continue the discussion and hopes to find a solution soon.
The United States has criticized France, Germany and Belgium for blocking NATO efforts to provide military assistance for Turkey.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warns that the United States is prepared to bypass the organization if the alliance fails to come out with an agreement on the issue.
France, Germany and Belgium broke NATO's silence procedure on the question of supporting the US and Turkey in case of an Iraq war just a few hours before the procedure was to expire.
***
French President Jacques Chirac says France, Russia and Germany have adopted a "common declaration", calling for strengthened UN weapons inspections in Iraq.
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Paris, Chirac said the three nations agree that "there still exists an alternative to war" on the Iraqi crisis and “nothing justifies a war now”.
For his part, Putin reaffirmed his opposition to the use of force on Iraq, saying a war risks heavy consequences.
Putin said the Russian air force could participate in the reinforcement of the UN inspections in Iraq.
The three nations also urge Iraq to cooperate more with the UN arms inspectors.
***
The European Parliament, one of the main organs of the European Union, has voted in favor of holding a debate on Iraq. The debate will begin Wednesday afternoon.
This follows the Greek EU presidency decision to hold an extraordinary EU summit on Iraq next week, which will be held in Athens or Brussels.
***
As a US-led war looms over Iraq, some staff and family members of the Chinese embassy in Baghdad have been evacuated to safe areas.
Contingency plans have been made for the remaining staff and the embassy continues to run smoothy.
There are over 100 Chinese citizens in Iraq. In addition to embassy workers, they include journalists, and employees of Chinese-invested enterprises and UN branches.
***
Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou has been invited to direct the opera ‘Turandot” at the World Cup Stadium in South Korea.
It is estimated that some 3.5 million US dollars will be spent on the project, making it the largest investment in the history of South Korean opera.
Zhang Yimou will make some amendments to the opera according to the stadium's requirements in order to ensure an oriental artistic style.
The show, to be staged in May, will keep the original dancers who performed in Italy and Beijing, but the singers and orchestra will be Korean.
Zhang Yimou's production of Italian composer Puccini's ‘Turandot’ proved to be a great success at Italy's Florence Opera House and Beijing's forbidden City.
***
Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao are jointly supporting the application to have traditional Cantonese opera listed by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Mankind.
This was announced by the Director of the Cultural Institute of the Macao S.A.R.Goverment, He Lizuan.
Cantonese opera is a folk music art popular in south China. It has over 400 years of history and is still popular among overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia.
The application to UNESCO will help improve the protection of traditional Chinese culture in general.
***
Three Hong Kong cinema festivals will be combined by organizers to enhance the events' impact.
The organizers have decided to work more closely beginning this year by launching "Cinema Capital" in April.
The three festivals are the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong Film Awards and Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.
The three have been prominent film events in Asia and contributed to promoting Hong Kong as Asia's film capital.
China's civil aviation authorities are hiking up the cost of air tickets to compensate for ballooning international oil prices.
Fuel is expected to account for 17 percent of the ticket price, as opposed to 11 percent before the current Gulf crisis.
But fierce domestic competition will mean that few airlines will raise prices by that much, allowing passengers to buy discounted tickets.
*****
Shanghai's Oral Health Committee says around half of all Chinese suffer from tooth decay, with the problem especially acute among children. The committee estimates that four out of five young children in the country are in desperate need of better dental care.
Tooth decay is ranked as one of China's major health risks, just after cancer and heart disease.
*****
Three hundred new Sonata cars will replace some of Beijing's old taxis this month.
The new taxi rate will be set within ten days, and experts believe it will be at least 1.6 yuan per kilometer. Rates for most taxies in Beijing are currently 1.2 and 1.6 per kilometer.
Sonata is the first model produced by Beijing Hyundai, a newly established auto company. It uses Liquefied Petroleum Gas as its fuel, and emissions meet Beijing's environmental standards.
The new taxi also contains a GPS tracking system, which features an anti-theft function.
*****
Shanghai's first eco-friendly office building is under construction. Scientists say energy-saving is its primary characteristic. It will be cool in summer and warm in winter, without installing air-conditioners and heaters.
The building will adopt new energy-saving technology and use renewable resources, such as solar energy and underground heat reserves.
The project is expected to be completed next year.
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
www.oh100.com 奥 博 教 育 网
礼品店 
用户注册 
用户登录
