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WORLD NEWS - 00:30 UTC, April 18, 2006By Voice of America
Broadcast: Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Special thanks to Kwahili, Jonathan Song, Tina Zhong, Sophie Anny, ... for posting their scripts of dictation
It is zero hour thirty universal time. I am Jim Ted in Washington.
Palestinian reports say Israel military has fired missiles at a metal factory in the Gaza Strip锛堝姞娌欏湴甯︼級. They say the missiles damage the factory but did not kill any one. Palestinians also have reported Israel military activity in the west bank cities of Nabulus and Jenin. Earlier a member of the militant group Jihard killed himself and 8 others in a bomb explosion. At least 60 people were wounded. The Palestinian group Hamas defended the attack as a fair action against Israeli aggression. Hamas now controls the Palestinian government. The US called the attack an evil act for which there is no excuse and condemned Hamas for approving of it. United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan also condemned the bombing. He urged the Palestinian authority to take a position against what he called such acts of terrorism.
The trial of former Iraq leader Saddam Hussein continues in Iraq. Lawyer should proof that he has assigned documents linked to government actions against Shiites in the 1980`s. Defense lawyers disputed the findings. They said the experts were interior ministry workers and demanded the court to use experts from other countries. The chief judge ended锛堢粨鏉燂紝涓??锛?the trial until Wednesday. Saddam Hussein and seven others are charged with killing more than 140 Iraqi Shiites in the village of Dujail in 1982. Also in Iraq, leaders have postponed a meeting of parliament because they can not agree about who should lead the next government. The main political parties have been in dispute over the issue since December.
Diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and other countries are preparing to meet in Moscow. They are to discuss the dispute about the Iranian nuclear program. The four Security Council meet next week. It was here we reported from the International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran鈥檚 nuclear program. The Security Council recently ordered Iran to stop enriching锛堟彁鐐硷紝娴撶缉锛?uranium which could be used to make a nuclear bomb. Since then Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad has said his government is testing a new machine that can enrich uranium four times faster that older machines. The price of oil has increased to new high levels in New York and London. London鈥檚 price for North Sea oil reached $71.62 a barrel. In New York trading, America oil hit a price of $70.40. Experts blamed the price increases on concerns about America oil supplies and worries that the political problems may slow the movement of oil from producers.
You are listening to the news in VOA special English.
A top American diplomat says Russia and China will block proposed UN restrictions against four people from Sudan. The US UN ambassador John Bolton says he was told unofficially about the plan to block the restrictions. The four Sudanese are accused of war crimes 锛堟垬浜夌姜锛塱n the Dafur area of Sudan. The proposed restrictions target their finances and their freedom to travel. The restrictions are to go into effect锛堢敓鏁堬級 Monday if no Security Council members object. Mr. Bolton has asked for a Security Council meeting to discuss the issue.
Chinese news reports say the country has approved the building of a new oil pipeline to Burma (缂呯敻). The official China business newspaper says the National Development and Reform Commission(鍥藉?鍙戞敼濮? gave the approval at the beginning of April. It will connect Burma鈥檚 deep water port of Sittwa (缂呯敻瑗块儴娓?彛鍩庡競锛屼簩鎴樻椂鏃ュ啗1942骞存敾鍗狅紝鑻卞啗1945骞村ず鍥炪 |