美联社新闻一分钟 2006-02-24

（单词翻译）

1. This White House report finds poor planning and lack of leadership led to widespread failures in dealing¹ with Hurricane Katrina. The Department of Homeland Security says it's taking steps to prepare for the 2006 hurricane season.

2. There's fear civil war will break out in Iraq following the attack yesterday on a sacred Shiite shrine². No one's claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on Sunni extremist groups. In the past two days, at least 111 people have died, and nearly 175 Sunni mosques³ have been attacked.

3. Rescuers are digging through rubble⁴ searching for signs of life after the snow-covered roof of a Moscow market collapsed⁵. Emergency officials say at least 52 people were killed and 32 were injured.

4. A manhunt is underway in England for an armed gang who posed as police officers to pull off one of the biggest robberies in that country's history. The robbers allegedly kidnapped the bank manager, then tied up 15 employees at a cash center while they stole up to 50 million pounds or 87 million dollars. No one was hurt.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. rubble : noun [U]
the piles of broken stone and bricks, etc. that are left when a building falls down or is destroyed:
e.g. The bomb reduced the house to rubble.

2. manhunt : noun [C]
an organized search for a person, especially a criminal:
e.g. The police have launched a manhunt after the body of a six-year-old boy was found last night.

3. pull off : phrasal verb [M] INFORMAL
to succeed in doing something difficult or unexpected:
e.g. The central bank has pulled off one of the biggest financial rescues of recent years.