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听力文稿 ( Transcript )
The Afghan authority says sweep by the American-led coalition forces through the southern provinces aimed at driving out Taliban militants is making good progress. A Defense Ministry spokesman said about 150 militants had been killed since Operation Mountain Thrust began earlier this month. Alistaire Lisa reports from southern Afghanistan.
The American-led coalition said 65 insurgents have been killed in two separate battles in the last 24 hours in Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces, both in southern Afghanistan. They were part of Operation Mountain Thrust which brings together the 3,300 British troops here in the south of the country with the other members of multinational force to improve security in the build-up to NATO’s takeover operations in the south at the end of the next month. The Afghan Ministry of Defense estimated 45 people had died in these recent clashes, but in the last two weeks around 150 insurgents have been killed.
The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has confirmed that he'll seek reelection in the presidential poll during October. The president announced this decision at the national convention of his Workers' Party. Mr, Lula da Silva, aged 60, and the former union boss, became the first left wing president for nearly half a century in a landslide in 2002. Opinion polls suggest his popularity is rebounding after setbacks caused by a corruption scandal that tarnished the image of his party.
The Kenyan branch of the worldwide anti-corruption group Transparency International has sacked its executive director Mwalimu Mati, accusing him of irregularities. The board of directors of Transparency International Kenya said an audit had found major anomalies in the awarding of contracts as well as the misuse of Transparency's name. Adam Minos reports from Nairobi.
It is hard to deny the irony of the claim that the local head of one of the world’s most renowned anti-corruption agencies should be accused of exactly the practices he is supposed to be on the lookout for. The board of directors of Transparency International Kenyan said it had sacked Mwalimu Mati because what it called major anomalies and irregularities in contracts awarded to a company run by people with links to its former executive director, and the misuse of Transparency International’s name for financial gain. Mr. Mati denied the allegations. But they throw into sharp relief the problems facing Kenya.
The woman bishop who was controversially elected head of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Katharine Jefferts Schori has said that her appointment shows that women are not excluded from any position in the worldwide Anglican community. Bishop Schori also called on the church to spend less time arguing about gay bishops. Instead, she said in a BBC interview, that people should focus on issues such as poverty and injustice.
"We are supposed to be builders of the reign of God. We are supposed to be transformers of the communities around us. And, yes, sexuality is a piece of that, but it’s a small piece compared to people who die because they are hungry or don't have treatment from malaria or AIDS or whose children can't go to school, because there aren’t any schools or teachers. I firmly believe that we need to refocus our attention.
You are listening to the world news from the BBC.
A report by a British think tank says Russia is not democratic enough or rich enough to be part of the G8 Group of industrialized nations. The left-leaning foreign policy center says President Putin has systematically dismantled Russian democracy and was destroying the G8's credibility. Russia currently holds the G8's presidency.
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has begun talks in Gaza with the Prime Minister of the Hamas-led government Ismail Haniyeh. Negotiations are aimed at agreeing a joint strategy for confronting the Israeli occupation. The meeting comes after several days of talks between their two parties. Our Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston reports.
"Officials from Hamas and Fatah have been negotiating for several days. Representatives of both sides have reported significant progress. And Mr. Abbas’s meeting with Mr. Haniyeh was obviously intended to push the process forward. President Abbas and his Fatah party are convinced that there has to be an attempt to negotiate with Israel. The ultimate aim will be to try to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, which will live alongside the Israeli state. Up to now, though, Hamas has opposed any arrangement that might involve recognizing Israel.
In the football World Cup, the host nation Germany will face one of the tournament’s favorites Argentina in the quarter-finals. In a hard effort match in Leipzig Argentina were taken to extra time by Mexico before beating them 2-1.
words and expressions:
anomaly: Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule irregularity: The quality or state of being irregular sweep: A clearing out or removal with or as if with a broom or brush transformer: 使变化的人
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