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.
The Second Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee has been held in Beijing.
The three-day session concluded with a communique pointing out that the whole party should further carry out the policy of reform and opening-up to maintain the healthy development of the country's national economy.
The meeting discussed and approved the proposed candidates for the country's new state leadership, and the candidates for the leadership of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The meeting also discussed and approved opinions on deepening China's administrative and institutional reforms, and proposed that the State Council forms a draft on this.
The meeting stresses that measures should be taken to further reform the country's institutional management, to create a standard, equal, transparent, honest and effective administrative system.
The meeting urges the whole party to stick to economic construction as the central task, and further deepen reform and opening-up so as to maintain the sustainable, rapid and healthy development of the country's national economy. The meeting also urges parties at all levels to solve problems for needy people, promote employment and re-employment, improve the country's social security system and make efforts towards building the country into a comprehensive well-off society.
***
Spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council, Zhang Mingqing has repeated that China will not promise to abandon the use of force against independence movements and splitting forces in Taiwan.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Zhang Mingqing stresses that the Taiwan authorities are responsible for unstable cross-strait relations, because they haven't made any efforts to put an end to the independence movements and splitting forces on the island. He says good cross-straits relations will only be secured if Taiwan authorities accept the “One China Principle” and “92 Consensus” and stop proceeding with a “gradual independence of Taiwan” policy.
***
French President Jacques Chirac has reiterated France's opposition to any new resolution on Iraq.
Chirac told visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar that France and Spain share the same objective of eliminating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but do not share the same view on how to achieve that objective.
He said there is a possibility of achieving this goal through peaceful means, and that war is not inevitable.
French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin stressed that France does not need to consider using its veto on the draft resolution on Iraq, as the text does not have majority support. He also called on Iraq to destroy its Al-Samoud II missiles banned by the United Nations.
***
The European Commission says it has drafted a list of US products worth up to 4 billion US dollars on which it may impose sanctions.
The row focuses on a US legislation known as Foreign Sales Corporations, which has helped scores of American companies gain tax breaks on exports.
The World Trade Organization ruled the program illegal in 2001 and gave the EU the right to raise tariffs by 100 percent on US exports worth 4 billion dollars a year.
The list, which includes products ranging from cereals to nuclear reactors, will be reviewed by member states shortly.
EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy says he won't implement sanctions if the US Congress enacts a new law ending the illegal subsidies.
***
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is to relax regulations regarding admission of professionals from the Chinese mainland and step up efforts to attract investment immigrants.
Chief Secretary for administration of the Hong Kong SAR, Donald Tsang, says the new policy aims to enlarge the pool of talent needed to meet the requirements of a knowledge-based economy.
He says the present restrictions on specific business sectors and admission of dependent family members will be lifted.
Apart from business talent, Hong Kong will also try to attract mainland talent from more diverse fields, such as the arts and sports, as part of a drive to build a multi-faceted, world-class city.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrived in Beijing for a four-day visit to China and has hold talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on bilateral ties and international and regional issues.
This is Castro's second trip to China, during which he will visit Nanjing, before leaving for home on Saturday.
*****
China has allocated more than 300 million yuan to help 20 thousand farmers and herdsmen in Tibet overcome poverty in 2002.
Through such measures as developing rural energy and drinking water for humans and livestock, more than 50 thousand people have become much better off.
To continue increasing the incomes of farmers and herdsmen, the region plans to put more stress on improving its science, education, cultural and health sectors.
*****
China's largest container vessel, the New Dalian, has commenced operations in Dalian, a port city Liaoning Province.
The 280-meter long ship can reach 26 knots and carry more than 5,600 containers. It is the fastest and most advanced container ship in China, and an indicator of the country's progress in building container ships.
The manufacturer plans to build another six container ships of the same quality this year.
*****
China has approved nationwide clinical use of a new anti-AIDS drug.
The drug, was developed by an associate research fellow at the Xi'an branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The new drug has been registered and obtained the approval of the State Drug Administration of China.
Based on traditional Chinese medicine, the new drug is believed to be the most effective ever used in the country.
He was full of the milk of human kindness. 他很有恻隐之心。
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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