NPR 2011-03-31

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

Syria is seeing one of its bloodiest¹ clashes between security forces and the opposition². In Daraa, troops opened fire on a crowd that set fire to a statue of Syria's late president. Casualty figures are uncertain. Large numbers of protesters also marched in other cities to demand political reforms. It was a similar scene across the Arab world. In Sana, Yemen, angry chants for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave. Across town, he told thousands of supporters that he wants to resign, but not until he's sure his successor is worth trusting. And in Jordan, at least one person is dead from the latest clashes with troops.

One of the most closely watched conflicts remains³ in Libya, though, where leader Muammar Gaddafi reportedly said he would arm volunteers in the war against rebels and coalition⁴ forces. Meanwhile, getting access to the wounded is nearly impossible. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports the International Committee of the Red Cross is among several groups struggling to reach anyone in need.

The ICRC, Doctors Without Borders and other groups have sent some medical aid into Misurata by sea, but those groups say that's hardly enough. They're calling on the Libyan government to allow urgent, unhindered access to deliver aid to the wounded and suffering in Misurata, Zawia and Ajdabiya. Simon Brooks⁵, the ICRC's Libyan head of mission, says the Gaddafi regime continues to block access in violation⁷ of the laws of armed conflict.

"We are told that there aren't these needs. We don't find that credible⁸. And it's inconsistent with the facts. You know, that access needs to happen. It needs to happen today."

There are also thousands of Libyan civilians⁹ displaced from the fighting in Ajdabiya, who are now camped out in a desert in poor conditions with little help from international aid groups. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Benghazi.

In one of the largest settlements involving the Catholic Church, a Jesuit order in the Pacific Northwest will pay $166 million to victims of sexual abuse by priests, many of them working in boarding schools attended by American Indians and Alaskan natives. More on this from NPR's Martin Kaste.

The Society of Jesus, Oregon Province, the branch of the Jesuits covering the Northwest and Alaska, has been sued by so many people it went into bankruptcy¹⁰ two years ago. That turned the 500 or so plaintiffs into creditors¹¹, and this deal is meant to settle that debt. John Allison, a lawyer for the victims, says the deal goes beyond money.

"There's a long list of promises the Jesuits have made to change the way they do business, to watch closely people that are assigned in our dear children. They'll make commitments to take public responsibility for what happened, which is extremely important, particularly to the native Americans who were sexually abused at these boarding schools."

The settlement still requires the approval of a bankruptcy court. Martin Kaste, NPR News, Seattle.

Before the close on Wall Street, Dow was up 50 points.

This is NPR.

Desperation is rising in Japan, where the death toll¹² from the earthquake and tsunami¹³ two weeks ago is now above 10,000. As heard through an interpreter, Prime Minister Naoto Kan addressed his people about the state of a damaged nuclear power plant.

"The situation today at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is still very grave and serious."

The government says radioactive water found in one part of the plant may have come from a reactor¹⁴ core, but still no hard evidence yet of a breach¹⁵.

The West African regional bloc⁶ is calling on the UN Security Council to strengthen the mandate¹⁶ of UN mission in Ivory Coast. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports regional leaders say the UN peacekeepers should be authorized¹⁷ to ensure power is transferred from the disputed leader to the internationally recognized president-elect.

After a two-day summit, the Economic Community of West African States says the crisis in Ivory Coast must not be forgotten. The chief executive of the organization James Victor Gbeho explains what ECOWAS is asking of the UN.

"We are inviting¹⁸ the United Nations to take all measures within its bound to get President Gbagbo to cede¹⁹ power to President Alassane Ouattara, and it must do so now, and take all necessary measures to protect lives in Cote d'ivoire at this time."

The regional bloc has threatened to use legitimate²⁰ force to remove Gbagbo, but says any military intervention²¹ would require UN authorization²². Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Abidjan.

US stocks turned higher before the close. At last check, Dow was up 50 at 12,220; NASDAQ up seven at 2,743.

1 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 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。

5 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

11 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

14 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

15 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

16 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

17 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

18 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

19 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

20 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

21 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

22 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。