NPR 2008-11-09

The speaker of Iran's parliament is criticizing President-elect Barack Obama for saying it is unacceptable for that country to develop nuclear weapons. Iran's state radio compared the Senator's statement to the hard-line taken by President Bush. Roxana Saberi has more from Tehran.

Ali Larijani said repeating objections to Iran's nuclear program was what he called 'taking a step in the wrong direction'. The parliament speaker also said if Obama wants to build better relations with Iran, he must show that his policies represent a true change from those of the Bush administration. Larijani was responding to comments made by Obama in a news conference on Friday, when the President-elect said international efforts must be made to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Obama has said he would tighten¹ sanctions on Tehran, but he's also held out the possibility of direct talks with the Iranian leaders to resolve problems. For NPR News, I'm Roxana Saberi in Tehran.

The outer bands of Hurricane Paloma are hitting Cuba in the same area that's still rebuilding from two hurricanes earlier this season. Over a million people have been ordered to evacuate² their homes. NPR's Jason Beaubien has more from Mexico City.

The National Hurricane Center calls Paloma an extremely dangerous storm that could produce up to a 23-foot tidal surge when it makes landfall in Cuba. The system strengthened to a Category-4 hurricane as it moved over the Cayman Islands. Overall damage on the islands was reported as light. Cuba has issued hurricane warnings for much of the center of the country. The communist island has already been battered³ this season by a series of hurricanes that caused billions of dollars in damages. Former President Fidel Castro writing in the state-run newspaper Granma on Saturday rejected any US hurricane assistance for Paloma, he instead called for lifting of U. S. sanctions against his country. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City.

Three Islamist militants⁴ who were convicted of carrying out the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people six years ago have been executed by a firing squad⁵ in Indonesia. The BBC's Lucy Williamson has the story.

The first reports came through at midnight that the three men had been taken from their cells and driven the short distance to the execution site somewhere on the prison island in front of me. There, in the darkness surrounded only by forest and a handful of witnesses they were shot through the heart by firing squad, a muted end for man who carried out Indonesia's worst terrorist attack and he spent the last few years in the glare of media attention and publicity⁶. Lawyers for the three men have confirmed that death sentences have been carried out but there's been no official statement from the country's Chief Prosecutor⁷. The BBC's Lucy Williamson.

Democratic Congressional leaders are urging the Bush administration to include struggling US automakers in the 700-billion-dollar financial rescue plan. In a letter to Treasury⁹ Secretary Henry Paulson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry¹⁰ Reid said a healthy auto⁸ industry is essential to the overall health of the U. S. economy.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Russian news agencies say at least 20 sailors and shipyard workers have died and 21 others were injured in an accident aboard a Russian nuclear-powered submarine. The report did not say where the submarine is located only that it was taking part in exercises and had a crew of 208 aboard. Media reports say the accident involved the failure of a fire extinguishing system in the front of the vessel¹¹, the nuclear reactor¹² is in the rear of the sub and was not damaged. Another Russian vessel is transporting crew members from the submarine to port.

A Canadian journalist is free after enduring nearly a month in captivity¹³ in Afghanistan. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation says TV-reporter Melissa Fung appears to be in good health. Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto has more.

In a prepared statement, the CBC said it is not clear who had been holding Fung, several armed groups operate kidnap-rings in central Afghanistan including the Taliban. Fung was abducted¹⁴ on October 12th in the Carg Lake refugee camp on the outskirts¹⁵ of Kabul. She had been conducting interviews with Afghanistan families who had fled their homes to escape the fighting. The camp is a popular spot for journalists, many foreigners travel freely in the more secure Afghani capital, so Fung's decision to visit the camp without armed protection was not considered unusual. During weeks of negotiations¹⁶ with the abductors, Canada's public broadcaster had requested a news blackout on Fung's status over fears for her safety. It is not said whether a ransom¹⁷ was paid. Kidnapping has become one of the biggest sources of income for insurgents¹⁸ in Afghanistan. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

A UN envoy¹⁹ in the Democratic Republic of Congo says dozens of civilians²⁰ may have been executed there this week, some by rebel troops, others by pro-government militia²¹. The group-Human Rights Watch says at least 26 people have been killed.

1 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

2 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

4 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。

5 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

8 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

9 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

10 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

11 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

12 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

13 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

14 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

15 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

16 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

17 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

18 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

19 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

20 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

21 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。