NPR 2010-03-29

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

 

President Obama is rallying American and NATO troops behind what he calls a clear mission in Afghanistan to wipe out al-Qaeda and stabilize¹ Afghanistan.

 

“We’re gonna deny al-Qaeda safe haven². We’re gonna reverse the Taliban’s momentum³. We’re gonna strengthen the capacity of Afghan security forces and the Afghan government so that they can begin taking responsibility and gain confidence of the Afghan people.”

 

The president speaking to thousands of forces at Bagram air base in Kabul today. He arrived just hours earlier, and NPR’s Scott Horsley was there.

 

President Obama flew into Afghanistan after dark on Sunday, and he’s scheduled to leave before sunrise Monday morning. In between, he met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and got an “on the ground update” from US Commander Stanley McCrystal. US and allied⁴ forces are preparing for a major offensive in the city of Kandahar. That’s Taliban refuge in southern Afghanistan. Mr. Obama’s ordered an additional 30,000 US troops to the country, bringing the total to about 100,000 by late summer. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Kabul.

 

Libya and the European Union are doing away with visa blacklist which jeopardize⁵ their economic ties. From Cairo, NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports a dispute began last summer when Swiss police arrested Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s son.

 

The European Union launched a concerted diplomatic effort to end the visa crisis which was affecting travel by citizens of more than two dozen European countries and Libya. European states at the instigation of Switzerland had barred entry visas for nearly 200 Libyan citizens, including Gadhafi and his top aides. For its part, Libya banned entry visas for large numbers of Europeans, and Gadhafi declared jihad on Switzerland and imposed a trade embargo⁶ against the Swiss. Gadhafi’s son Hannibal was arrested in Geneva in July 2008 on charges of abusing domestic workers. Those charges were later dropped. Libya subsequently detained a Swiss businessman and jailed him on charges of violating immigration rules. The businessman’s lawyer said he hopes his client will be released soon after the Arab summit this weekend. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

 

Arab leaders are apparently⁷ no closer to agreeing on whether or not the Palestinians should keep pursuing peace talks with Israel. The conflict was one of the top issues at the Arab League’s annual summit that was held in Libya this weekend.

 

Several deadly explosions today in Iraq are raising fears about post-election violence in that country. Authorities say one bomb blew up near the house of a Sunni politician who ran in this month’s parliamentary elections that were held March 7th. When people gathered at the scene, four more bombs exploded. At least six people died; more than two dozen were injured. And violence persists as Iraq prepares for a new coalition⁸ government. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is appealing the results.

 

This is NPR News.

 

On Sunday, Mass at the Vatican marking the start of Holy Week for Roman Catholic at St. Peter’s Square. This as Pope Benedict XVI is under fire for his handling of sex abuse cases. The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked by recent wave of allegations of abuse by priests and caused to hold the Vatican accountable.

 

New York-based Human Rights Watch has urged the United Nations to boost peacekeeping forces in the African countries where the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army operates. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports the appeal comes a day after confirmation⁹ that rebels killed more than 300 people late last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

Human Rights Watch detailed¹⁰ the massacre¹¹ by Lord’s Resistance Army rebels in a remote part of northeastern Congo in December. It’s reported victims were hacked¹² to death with machetes or had their skulls¹³ crushed with axes and tree trunks. Children, who’d been forcibly recruited, were ordered to kill other children who disobeyed the rebels’ rules. Human Rights Watch said poor communications meant the four-day rebel rampage had gone unreported and called on the UN to increase its current 1,000 peacekeepers in impenetrable areas where the rebels mount their attacks. For more than 20 years, the Ugandan militia¹⁴ group has abducted¹⁵ and killed people at home and in neighboring Sudan, Central African Republic and Congo. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Abuja.

 

The International Red Cross is reporting that a soldier taken hostage nearly a year ago in Columbia has been freed. The humanitarian¹⁶ group says it rescued the 23-year-old private in the jungles of southern Columbia today.

 

This is NPR.
 

1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

3 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

4 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

6 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

11 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

12 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

13 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

14 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

15 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

16 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。