NPR 2011-06-05

Pakistani officials say a US drone attack killed one of the five most wanted men in Pakistan last night. Ilyas Kashmiri was suspected of orchestrating deadly attacks in Pakistan and India, including the siege in Mumbai in 2008, in which more than 160 people died. The US had offered a five-million-dollar reward for information on his whereabouts.

NATO has launched its first attacks, using helicopters against Libyan government forces. Teri Schultz reports the new air power gives the alliance more flexibility¹ but also carries more risk.

British and French helicopters swooped² in overnight in their first missions against targets too difficult for fighter jets to reach with a necessary position. NATO says the helicopters carried out what it calls a "successful engagement" with military vehicles, equipment and forces of the Libyan regime. Until the commitment by Britain and France of the helicopters last month, the alliance had been hindered by concern for civilian³ casualties and striking the military asset that accuses President Muammar Gaddafi of hiding in populated areas. With the increased flexibility, however, use of the helicopters also increases the possibility of casualties on NATO side. French military officials confirmed their helicopters did draw live ground fire in the overnight attacks but suffered no damage. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

A bomb killed four NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan today. NPR's Ahmad Shafi says more than 50 international troops have died since the Taliban began a spring offensive.

NATO says the four foreign soldiers died following a roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan today. They gave no other details. Most NATO troops, serving in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, are Americans. Meanwhile, Afghanistan officials say a suicide bomber⁴ attacked a joint⁵ Afghan and NATO patrol in Marawara district in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan. An Afghan provincial⁶ spokesperson says three Afghan counter-terrorism officials working for NATO have been killed. More than 200 NATO soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year. Most of the deaths have occurred in the bordering Afghan provinces, where the Taliban militants⁷ launch frequent attacks from their safe sanctuaries⁸ in Pakistan. Ahmad Shafi, NPR News, Kabul.

Defense⁹ Secretary Robert Gates is in Afghanistan to say goodbye. He's retiring as Defense Secretary at the end of the month.

Lawrence Eagleburger died today. He served as Secretary of State in the first Bush administration. He was the first career foreign service officer to rise to the top job at State. Eagleburger's diplomatic career spent eight presidents. At an appearance at the State Department last month, he recalled he once got in trouble for saying the Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba wouldn't work.

"The next thing I know: I'm in the White House and being beaten up by every political advisor¹⁰ who's with the president, whoever existed. And I, you know, I come out of there, bloody¹¹ but unbowed."   

Eagleburger died after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 80.

This is NPR News.

Firefighters in Arizona are trying to contain two of the largest fires in state history. Together, they've burned more than 300 square miles. Fire information officer Deryl Jevons says firefighters from other states are joining the effort.

"We've brought in fire engines and additional hand crews and helicopters from pretty much all over the Western United States."

But other western states are fighting fires of their own. Flames came within 50 yards of some homes in Colorado. A blaze is burning at a national forest in California, and firefighters in Alaska continue to battle a blaze threatening cabins 50 miles northwest of Fairbanks.

Canada is moving to impose biometric scanning on travelers seeking visas to enter the country. Dan Karpenchuk reports it's not clear yet which countries will be targeted.

Sources in Ottawa have said the federal government is planning to roll out its 200-million-dollar electronic fingerprinting¹² program in India mainly because of concerns about widespread immigration fraud on applications from that country. But the Federal Immigration Department insisted there's been no decision yet on which countries will be first. Biometric technology uses the measurement of the face, fingerprints¹³ or retinas to create digital identification records. The technology is considered more reliable than the use of photo ID by immigration agents because digital information can be scanned into computers. Ottawa announced in 2008 that it was moving to biometrics, part of its agreement with Washington to beef up border security. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

Li Na won the women's final at the French Open today. She beat Francesca Schiavone, 6-4, 7-6. Li is the first Chinese tennis player to win a Grand Slam Championship.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.

1 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

2 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 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。

5 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。

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 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。

8 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

11 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

12 fingerprinting   

v.指纹( fingerprint的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Institutions from banks to pawnshops are fingerprinting to authenticate transactions. 从银行到当铺，都在使用指纹识别对交易进行验证。 来自互联网
• In addition, a digital fingerprinting algorithm based on binary codes is described. 介绍了一种二进制指纹编码方案。 来自互联网

13 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》