IN THE NEWS - New Iraqi Government Faces Increase in Violenc

IN THE NEWS - New Iraqi Government Faces Increase in Violence
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Saturday, May 07, 2005

A democratically elected government was sworn into office Tuesday in Iraq. The new prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, was sworn in first. He placed his hand on a Koran and promised to protect the independence of Iraq. The ceremony took place at a building inside the Green Zone. That area of Baghdad is heavily guarded by American troops.

Violence has increased since Mister Jaafari announced his government on April twenty-eighth. Among the attacks Friday, a bomber² set off a car full of explosives next to a small police bus in Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein.

 
 
There was also a deadly bombing at a market in the town of Suwayrah, south of Baghdad. And police recovered at least twelve bodies that were buried at a waste center at the northeastern edge of the capital.

Also Friday, Al-Jazeera television said kidnappers³ are demanding that Australia begin to remove its troops from Iraq within seventy-two hours. The Arab television station showed an Australian hostage being held at gunpoint. Al-Jazeera also reported the kidnapping of six Jordanian workers in Iraq.

The new Iraqi cabinet has thirty-seven members. Those sworn-in Tuesday included sixteen Shiite Arabs and nine Kurds. They also included four Sunnis and one Christian⁴. Mister Jaafari still had seven members to name, including leaders for the oil and defense⁵ ministries⁶.

The prime minister, a Shiite, said he wanted to fill the defense position with a Sunni Arab in an effort to reach out to that minority group. Sunni Muslims ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein. They boycotted⁷ the national elections in January. And they are believed to be leading the resistance movement.

Mister Jafaari blamed the delay in naming the cabinet on disputes among the Sunnis. The top Sunni member in the cabinet, Vice⁸ President Ghazi al-Yawer, was among lawmakers who did not attend the Tuesday ceremony.

The new government will lead Iraq while the temporary national assembly writes a constitution. Lawmakers are supposed to finish by the middle of August, and then put the proposed document to a national vote. Approval of the constitution would lead the way to new elections in December.

In other political news this week in the Middle East, women in Kuwait lost a chance to vote in elections on June second. Conservatives in parliament delayed consideration of a proposed election law. The measure would have permitted women to vote in elections for the Kuwaiti municipal council.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are the only Arab countries that bar women from elections. Kuwaiti activists⁹ say they hope women will be able to vote in elections in two thousand nine.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Jill Moss. I'm Steve Ember.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

3 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 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。

6 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

7 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》