NPR 2008-05-03

Turkish warplanes launched overnight air raids against suspected Kurdish separatist targets in the mountains of northern Iraq. NPR’s Ivan Watson has this report from Baghdad.

 Shortly before midnight on Thursday, Turkish warplanes began bombing the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq. For years, Kurdish PKK rebels have operated out of camps on these remote peaks located along Iraq’s border with Iran. The Turkish bombing rounds came just hours after a meeting between a high-ranking Turkish diplomat¹ and leaders of the regional government in semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. It was the first meeting of its kind between the Turks and the Iraqi Kurds since the US invasion of Iraq. Turkey has repeatedly accused the Iraqi Kurds of supporting PKK rebels which the Turks call “terrorists”. It has also threatened to go to war with the autonomous-minded Iraqi Kurds if they declare independence from Baghdad. Ivan Watson, NPR News, Baghdad.

 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in London, and there she has expressed some fresh concerns over Iran’s nuclear intentions. Larry Miller² has more from London.

 Secretary Rice says she continues to doubt Iran’s nuclear program is designed for civil purposes. Rice is in London for meetings with other members of the UN Security Council to discuss the next round of sanctions that may be imposed on Teheran. She says Iran’s insistence³ that it be allowed to enrich uranium is at cross purposes with the goal of developing a civil nuclear program, adding one has to wonder what’s going on here. So far, the incentives⁴ offered to Iran to drop its nuclear program haven’t achieved that objective. Rice says some of her Security Council colleagues might want to sweeten the incentives further. She says she’ll look again at the package, which she describes as “already generous”. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller, in London.

 Unemployment figures for April are due out this morning as are data on factory orders for March. And against yesterday’s backdrop of higher prices for energy and basic goods, President Bush is scheduled to talk about the economy today in St. Louis. He’s to tour a minority-owned technology company that, the White House says, has benefited from tax breaks in the new economic stimulus⁵ package passed by Congress. Rebates⁶ are going out to individuals under that program and Mr. Bush says they will help to get the economy going in the right direction. But many economists⁷ say the higher prices for fuel, food and other items as reported yesterday by the government may eat up the rebates without much effect.

 Congress is still working to come up with an Iraq war spending bill that President Bush will sign. Senate Majority Leader Harry⁸ Reid says negotiators are trying to finish a bill by Memorial Day. But he says the Pentagon can pay for wars into June if need be. The president is asking for 108 billion dollars.

 Wall Street’s stock futures⁹ are mixed this morning. This is NPR News.

 After its troubled journey around the world, the Olympic torch relay has been welcomed by tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong. It’s the first stop on Chinese soil for the torch. NPR’s Louisa Lim has this report from Hong Kong.

 Waving Chinese flags and dressed in red to show their patriotism¹⁰, tens of thousands of Hong Kong people came out to welcome the Olympic Flame. But the torch’s journey was not without some tension. Crowds heckled and jostled activists¹¹, some of whom had to be taken away by police for their own safety. Hong Kong is generally a city tolerant to protestors. But this time, the authorities had barred several activists from entering. Actress Mia Farrow was allowed into the city where she gave a talk accusing China of underwriting human rights abuses in Sudan. She wants Beijing to use its influence on Khartoum to stop the violence in the Darfur region. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Hong Kong.

 Envoys¹² of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, are headed to China tomorrow for talks with government officials. These are the first such talks since peaceful protests and violent riots rocked Tibet and Tibetan areas of China Proper/proper beginning last month. A message at the Dalai Lama’s website says the envoys would raise with the Chinese government the Dalai Lama’s concerns about the situation in Tibet and make suggestions for solving the Tibet issue. The two sides have held six rounds of talks since 2002, but the Dalai Lama says very few substantial results have been achieved.

 And Israeli police were due to question Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today on suspicion of corruption¹³. He’s never been charged in any cases.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

3 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

10 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

11 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》

12 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

13 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。