VOA标准英语2008年-Somalia's President, Prime Minister to End Disp

Following more than a week of Ethiopia-mediated talks, Somalia's feuding² president and prime minister have reportedly agreed to end their political dispute, which had jeopardized³ the stability of the country's transitional government. A government spokesman says the two leaders have settled their differences and are prepared to work together again. But as VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, reports from Somalia suggest the leadership crisis is far from over.
　
President Abdullahi Yusuf

Government spokesman Abdi Hahi Gobdon says the two leaders agreed on several issues during their talks in Addis Ababa. But the most important involves Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf's decision to accept the dismissal of Mogadishu's mayor and the regional governor, Mohamed Dheere.

"They agreed to change the governor of the Banadir region and the mayor of Mogadishu," he said. "The president, he accepted now. I do not have exactly what was agreed, but that is the most important."

For months, President Yusuf is said to have disapproved⁴ of Prime Minister Nur Adde Hassan Hussein's attempts to reconcile with opposition⁵ groups leading a bloody⁶ anti-government, anti-Ethiopian insurgency⁷ in Somalia.
　
An undated photo of Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein

Simmering differences between the two leaders widened into an open feud¹ late last month when Prime Minister Hussein fired Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Dheere for financial mismanagement and for failing to secure the Somali capital.

President Yusuf vehemently⁸ opposed the dismissal, arguing that only he had the power to act in such cases. Ten ministers allied⁹ with President Yusuf resigned in protest and supporters of the president in parliament have threatened to pass a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister.

Alarmed by the situation, neighboring Ethiopia, which sent tens of thousands of troops in Somalia in late 2006 to oust¹⁰ Somalia's Islamist movement and install the transitional federal government in power, summoned both Somali leaders to Addis Ababa for urgent talks.

In an interview last week with the British Financial Times newspaper, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin called the political infighting the biggest obstacle to bringing stability to Somalia.

U.S.-based Somalia analyst¹¹ Michael Weinstein says he is convinced that cash-strapped and war-weary Ethiopia wants to establish conditions in Somalia, which can allow it to withdraw the bulk of its troops as soon as possible.

Weinstein says Foreign Minister Seyoum's comments may reflect Addis Ababa's growing impatience¹² with President Yusuf, who has repeatedly resisted any moves to share power and has caused political instability before. Last October, Mr. Yusuf ousted¹³ Ali Mohamed Gedi as prime minister after a rift¹⁴ opened up between them over oil-exploration contracts with foreign firms.

Despite the criticisms from Ethiopia, Weinstein says President Yusuf is not likely to back off from attempts to retain as much power as he can.

"Yusuf is banking¹⁵ on that they are not going to drop recognition of the TFG [transitional federal government], which is the only threat that really matters to him," he said. "And second of all, he believes he can buy off parliament. There is a lot of disaffection with Nur Adde among the old MP-warlord interests. And so he thinks he can swing parliament behind him."

Ethiopia's backing of Mr. Yusuf played a critical role in his rise to the presidency¹⁶ of the interim¹⁷ government in 2004.

 

1 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

2 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

3 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

4 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 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。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

13 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

14 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

15 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

16 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

17 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。