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.
Meteorologists have been on high alert since last week the western city of Lanzhou was hit by the first dusty weather this year. From today, we will bring you a series of reports about this gritty problem. First, Wang Jing tells us what the situation will be like this year:
Sandstorms in northern China are becoming heavier and more frequent with every passing year: In the 1960s and 70s, sandstorms occurred once every two years on average, but in 2001 they came with a vengeance, ripping northern China a total of 18 times. Last year a particularly vicious sandstorm hit China, sending inhabitants scurrying for cover.
People can’t help wondering what the situation will be like this year.
Professor Guo Zhengtang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences says the country is not likely to see a fierce sandstorm before March.
“China’s northern areas experienced more rain and snow last year, which helped alleviate successive years of drought and let the vegetation grow naturally. In addition, there’s a sign of a weak cold atmosphere this year, which will also reduce the possibility of sandstorms.”
However, experts warn that as there are still some desert areas exposed without snow covering, March and April will still be the most vulnerable time.
Since sandstorm started to increase in frequency in the past few years, the government and scientists began to take action, and their work has already seen some positive results.
Doctor Chen Yan is from the State Environmental Protection Administration. He has been involved in sandstorm research for three years.
“In this project, we have drawn up a preliminary conclusion of the major sources of sandstorms which severely hit China. We noted the routes they took and the effect they had, and also provided logical ways to fight the sandstorms.”
Meanwhile, many government departments are also working on improving the supervision system and alarm notification for sandstorms, aiming to reduce the damage to a bare minimum. Satellites and remote sensors are widely used.
This year, meteorologists are expected to do a better job in informing people of approaching sandstorms. The storm forecast can inform them of the specific date and scope of a sandstorm a couple of days before it arrives.
Wang Jing, CRI news.
That is the first part of the sandstorm series. Tomorrow, we'll bring you the second part of the story - looking at sandstorms from a scientific perspective.
Statistics show the average family assets in Beijing now amount to an estimated 60 thousand US dollars.
The figure repreesents a twofold increase in the average family assets value in China.
The assets of rich families are nearly seven and a half times greater than poor ones, with the assets of those in the wealthier demographic accounting for as much as 43 per cent of the total family assets in the city.
The statistics also reveal a sharp contrast between the assets of poorer suburban households and more well-off and well-to-do urban families.
*****
Xinhua news agency says that since the year 2000, China has invested nearly 75 billion U.S. dollars in revamping the transport facilities of various cities, and the situation has greatly improved.
During this time, more than 12 thousand city roads have been constructed or rebuilt, while a great number of road-signs and traffic lights have been added to improve road safety.
These measures have eased congestion in China’s cities, and made city life far more comfortable for the public.
*****
Chinese scientists have come up with some innovative water saving technology that can be applied to agriculture. It has won approval from experts, and is to be extended across the country.
China’s precious water resources are frequently wasted through the use of backward irrigation technology. The country initiated a project in 1999 to tackle this problem, and after three years of hard work, a result has been produced.
Significant improvements in irrigation systems have been seen where the new technology is used.
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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