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.
Jiang Zemin, Chirac discuss Iraq issue by phone
Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac discussed the joint statement on the Iraqi crisis issued by France, Germany and Russia during a telephone conversation.
Jiang Zemin says China supports the content of the statement, and stresses the need for a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi issue within the UN framework.
He adds that the UN weapons inspections have so far been effective, and should continue.
Jiang Zemin says that war is beneficial to neither side, and that it is China's duty to take all possible measures to avoid a war.
Chinese Muslims celebrate annual festival
The Islamic Association of China has held a reception to celebrate the Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, a major Islamic holiday that falls at the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Representatives from the National People's Congress, National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the State Council attended the reception.
Diplomatic envoys to China from about 30 Arabic and Islamic countries were invited to be present.
The three-day festival is marked by some 10 ethnic groups in China including the Hui and Uygur. More than 2,000 Chinese Muslims are participating in the annual hajj this year.
North Korea rebukes US as not sincere in direct talks
North Korea Central News Agency says the US still aims to to attack the country even though Washington says it wants to hold talks with Pyongyang over the escalating nuclear issue.
The Agency says US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, has contradicted himself by saying Washington would hold direct talks with North Korea while holding that the issue is a matter of concern for the international community. It adds that Washington's real intention is to refuse direct talks with North Korea.
Meanwhile, in a meeting with the European Union’s external affairs chief, Javier Solana, South Korea’s President Kim Dae Jung has expressed his wish that the EU would encourage talks between North Korea and the US.
Solana said the EU hopes to help multilateral efforts to defuse the nuclear crisis.
Missing Colombian minister died in plane crash
The wreckage from a light aircraft which went missing last Thursday carrying Colombian Social Protection Minister Juan Londono has been found.
It was spotted by military helicopters Tuesday on San Julian Mountain in the western Colombian state of Tolima.
Authorities confirmed that none of the 5 people on board the aircraft, including Londano, survived.
Leading crosstalker Ma Sanli passes away
Famous Chinese crosstalk artist Ma Sanli died Monday at the age of 90.
Born in Beijing in 1914, Ma Sanli came from a Hui ethnic minority family and his family members are all good at Chinese folk arts.
He grew up and studied in Tianjin. At the age of 15 he formally acknowledged Zhou Deshan as his crosstalk master. After the founding of New China, Ma Sanli joined the Tianjin Folk Art Troupe.
He excelled at humorous crosstalk. Some of his works, such as Article Contest, Buying a Monkey and Tongue Twister are great favorites in Beijing and Tianjin.
"Hero" nominated for Oscar
Chinese movie "Hero" has been nominated for the best foreign language film in this year's Oscars.
The blockbuster directed by Zhang Yimou is the first movie made in the Chinese mainland ever into the final round of competition for the Academy Awards.
"Hero" is the greatest success in box office income in China. But it lost to Spanish movie "Talk to her" when vying for this year's Golden Globe.
However, to many people's surprise, "Talk to Her" is not nominated for the Oscars.
The other four foreign language film nominees are Mexico's "El Crimen Del Padre Amaro," Finland's "The Man Without a Past," Germany's "Nowhere in Africa," and the Dutch film "Zus & Zo." (or: are from Mexico, Findland, Germany, and the Netherlands.)
Among the best English language movie nominees, "Chicago" is widely deemed as a front-runner. The musical also scored 12 other nominations.
This year's Oscar awarding ceremony will take place on March 23rd.
The Minister of Communication says last year the Chinese government invested more than 36.5 billion US dollars in road construction, with 60 thousand kilometers of new highway paved. The country's total length of highway is now nearly 1.8 million kilometers.
The minister says the construction of a batch of highways, bridges and tunnels has promoted China's traffic and transport industry as well as the national economy.
*****
China has retrieved economic losses worth 2.4 billion US dollars by implementing anti-dumping regulations in the past five years.
The State Economic and Trade Commission explains that since 1997 the country has dealt with 22 anti-dumping cases involving steel, chemicals and light industrial products.
For several years, China has been introducing laws and regulations in order to settle trade disputes in accordance with WTO rules and international standards.
*****
Tibet has unveiled an educational blueprint allowing over 98 percent of school age children in the autonomous region to enjoy a minimum of nine years education by 2007.
The plan stipulates that over 95 percent of Tibetan children will receive a six-year compulsory elementary education by 2005.
By the end of last year, Tibet had nearly 3,100 primary and secondary schools with 410,000 pupils. Attendance at primary schools reached over 88 percent.
*****
China's annual output of casual shoes has reached nearly one billion, accounting for 50% of the global total.
The national quality control authority says more than 80% are up to standard.
China's casual shoe enterprises are mainly located in Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong.
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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