Migrant Crisis Shows Effects in Budapest

Migrant Crisis Shows Effects in Budapest

More than 2,000 people have been unable to travel from the main international train station in Budapest, Hungary. Officials stopped allowing migrants to travel to Germany and Austria without a visa from the European Union. The migrants had been waiting near the station for weeks. Many have been seeking to travel on to Germany and Austria.

At first, officials said they would permit the migrants to leave the station without checking for visas, but later changed their decision.

The officials said they are trying to follow European Union rules. E.U. rules say migrants must seek asylum¹ in the first country they enter.

Hungary is a main migrant entry point to the European Union with more than 156,000 arriving this year.

Iran nuclear deal gets important support

A U.S. senator has announced her support for the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland is the 34th member of the Senate to commit to a vote supporting the deal. The Senator said that deal was not perfect, but was the best available plan to keep Iran from getting a nuclear bomb.

Also Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke² in the city of Philadelphia in support of the international agreement known as the Joint³ Comprehensive Plan of Action.                                                    

Congress is expected to debate the agreement next week during the closing days of a 60-day review period.

Roman Catholic leader calls for abortion⁴ pardons

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church has called on priests to forgive what the church considers a serious sin, abortion. In a letter published Tuesday Pope Francis said he is “well aware of the pressure” some women face. Pope Francis is calling for priests to absolve⁵ women of the “sin of abortion” in the coming year.  The move breaks with the traditional teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

North Korea denies apology for landmine⁶ incident

North Korea’s National Defense⁷ Commission has denied apologizing for a landmine explosion that injured two South Koreans. In a deal reached last week, North Korea expressed "regret" over the explosion. The agreement cooled hostilities⁸ between the two neighbors.           

South Korea has said it views the statement as evidence it finally persuaded North Korea to take responsibility for the early August incident. But in a statement Wednesday, the North Korean commission accused the South of misinterpreting the statement of regret.

Sierra Leone holds 50 on Ebola fears

Sierra Leone has quarantined 50 people in the northern area of Kambia. A 76-year-old woman in the area died of Ebola days ago. The country had just released its last known Ebola patient. A person working in the government told VOA that no other people have shown symptoms of the virus.

War crimes trial begins for Congolese rebel leader

A former Congolese rebel leader has pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Bosco Ntaganda said he was not guilty Wednesday on the first day of his trial.

Lawyers say the rebel leader is responsible for crimes committed by his rebel group, the Union of Congolese Patriots⁹.

He faces 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity that took place in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002 and 2003. The crimes include charges of murder, rape¹⁰, sexual slavery, enlistment¹¹ of child soldiers and displacing populations.

Words in the News

visa – n. an official mark on a passport allowing a person to enter or leave a country

quarantine – v. to keep a person away from others to prevent disease

absolve – v. (religious) to give forgiveness to someone for a sin

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 absolve   

v.赦免，解除（责任等）

参考例句：

• I absolve you,on the ground of invincible ignorance.鉴于你不可救药的无知，我原谅你。
• They agree to absolve you from your obligation.他们同意免除你的责任。

6 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

9 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

10 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

11 enlistment   

n.应征入伍，获得，取得

参考例句：

• Illness as a disqualification for enlistment in the army. 疾病是取消参军入伍资格的一个原因。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One obstacle to the enlistment of able professors was that they had to take holy orders. 征聘有才能的教授的障碍是他们必须成为牧师。 来自辞典例句