VOA慢速英语-IN THE NEWS - Pakistani Lawmakers to Elect New Presi

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Lawmakers in Pakistan will elect a new president on September sixth. Officials set the date Friday. Presidents are elected by parliament and the assemblies of the four provinces.
　
President Pervez Musharraf announces his resignation

Pervez Musharraf resigned Monday after almost nine years in power. He defended his record, denied any wrongdoing and said he was resigning for the good of the country.

Lawmakers united in recent weeks to force him out. They had threatened to bring impeachment¹ charges against him in parliament.

Who might replace him?
　
Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari

One possibility: Asif Ali Zardari, husband of murdered former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He now heads her Pakistan People's Party, which leads the governing coalition².

But one issue that could split the coalition is what to do about more than forty top judges. Mister Musharraf dismissed them late last year during the six weeks when he suspended the constitution.

They include former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. If he gets his job back, he could undo³ a legal amnesty that Mister Musharraf agreed to last year. That amnesty dismissed corruption⁴ charges against Asif Zardari and other leaders of his party.

Yet political leaders have said that the recent deal to unite against the president was based on an agreement to let the judges quickly return.

Nawaz Sharif heads a major party in the coalition. He threatened to withdraw unless the judges got their jobs back by Friday. Now, he has agreed to next Wednesday. Parliament will debate a resolution on the issue starting Monday.

Pervez Musharraf seized power without violence as army chief in nineteen ninety-nine. In June of two thousand one, he appointed himself president.

The United States praised him as an ally in its war on terrorism after the al-Qaida attacks in September of that year. Pakistan had supported the Taliban government that let al-Qaida leaders operate in Afghanistan.

Last November, after lawmakers re-elected him, Mister Musharraf declared emergency rule. He said his actions were needed because of growing Islamic extremism.

Critics said the real reason was because the Supreme⁵ Court had questioned the legality of a general as president. He finally resigned from the military, and new judges loyal to him approved his presidency⁶.

Then, in February, his party suffered a big defeat in parliamentary elections.

The United States says Pervez Musharraf has been a friend. But it also says it supports the move to a democratic government in Pakistan and respects the election results.

On Thursday, near Islamabad, two suicide bombers⁷ killed more than sixty people outside Pakistan's biggest weapons factory. A Pakistani Taliban spokesman said the attack was in answer to a Pakistani offensive.

For weeks, Pakistani forces have been fighting militants⁸ in tribal⁹ areas along the Afghan border. Red Cross officials are launching an emergency operation to aid tens of thousands of people displaced by the conflict.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

2 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。

3 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

9 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。