VOA慢速英语2015 欧洲和美国官员警示恐怖威胁

 

European, US Officials Warn of Terror Threat 欧洲和美国官员警示恐怖威胁

After the deadly attacks in France, European nations are working toward greater cooperation to fight terrorism across the continent and the world.

Rob Wainwright is the director of the European Union law enforcement agency Europol. He says that a strong police response is underway after the January 7 and 9 terrorist attacks in France that killed 17 people. He adds that the nature of terrorism threats has changed since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Mr. Wainwright says authorities are working toward greater cooperation among counterterrorism services, including sharing information about terrorist activity.

Prime Minister David Cameron says Britain faces what he calls a "severe" threat of terrorist attack. He says that the threat of terrorist attacks keeps changing because of the problem of extremist Islamic believers. He adds that the struggle against these extremists will take a long time and require international cooperation.

Greg Barton is the director of the Monash University Center of Islam and Modern World in Australia. He says that al-Qaida has been around for 30 years and newer groups have also been created. He agrees with Prime Minister Cameron that a solution to terrorism is decades away.

In the United States, Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that the U.S. also faces the potential of attack from what he calls “homegrown violent extremism.” Another Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham, adds that the Islamic State group and the al-Nusra Front in Syria and Iraq remain the biggest threat to the United States. He says that success against them would greatly change the security threat worldwide.

Time not right to ease Russia sanctions, EU says

European Union, or EU, foreign ministers said on Monday there were no reasons to lift economic sanctions against Russia. Federica Mogherini is the foreign policy chief for the EU. She suggested in a private message to the organization that the EU could start talking to Russia again about trade and other issues. But Ms. Mogherini says lifting sanctions on Russia would only happen if there were improvements on the ground in Ukraine.

The EU has joined the United States in issuing tough sanctions on Russia over its alleged¹ support for the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine. But not all 28 members of the EU agree strongly with the sanctions.

Margot Wallstrom is the foreign minister of Sweden. She says the EU must keep its sanctions on Russia. But she adds that a long-term plan is needed for future dealings with the country.

Sebastian Kurz is the foreign minister of Austria. He says the EU should create a strategy to improve long-term relations with Russia. The first sanctions the EU imposed on Russia come up for renewal² in March. All members of the EU must agree to extend them.

Pakistan reportedly bans Haqqani terrorist network

Pakistan has reportedly banned the Haqqani Network, a militant³ group connected to the Afghan Taliban. But the government of Pakistan has not officially announced the decision. Officials say a formal announcement will be made, in their words, “at an appropriate time.”

Last year, the militant group attacked a school in Peshawar and killed 150 people, mostly children. The school attack was the deadliest terrorist attack in Pakistan's history. The attack has led the government and military to strengthen and expand counterterrorism actions. Since the attacks, authorities have reinstated the death penalty and created military courts to put terrorism suspects on trial.

U.S. and Afghan officials have said that key Haqqani leaders used secret areas in Pakistan to plan terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. They also have said the network receives support from Pakistan’s military spy agency, the ISI.  Officials in Pakistan deny any links or support for the group.

Nawaz Sharif is the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He spoke⁴ to a gathering⁵ of foreign diplomats⁶ in the country’s capital Islamabad on Monday. He says his government is, in his words, “determined to wipe out terrorism in all its shades and hues⁷ and has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against terrorists."

Video of father may have compelled N. Korea defector to change story

A video message from the father of a well-known defector from North Korea may have led him to change the story of his escape from a prison camp.

Shin Dong-hyuk admitted in a post on his Facebook page to having changed key parts of his story and apologized. He says he thought his father was dead and that he was grieved to see his father alive. On Sunday, Shin was a key witness to the United Nations investigation⁸ into human rights abuses in North Korea.

In the video, his father told Shin to “come to your senses and return to the embrace of the Party.” The “Party” refers to the Workers' Party in North Korea. He also referred to discrepancies⁹ in Shin's story.

Shin said in October the video might have been a threat that his father would be killed if he did not keep quiet. But he did not want to talk about the differences in his story that his father spoke of in the video.

In the video, Shin's father speaks about the family living in an area that was once the site of one of North Korea's prisons, Camp 18.

But Shin’s initial story talked about being born and living all his life in Camp 14. That camp was known for harsher human rights abuses.

Blaine Harden is the author of a best-selling book on Shin. He says that much of the changed story given was the same as the original version and his testimony¹⁰ to the UN.

“But he has significantly revised details of his early life and substantially changed the dates and places of major events,” Harden said.

Words in the News

defector – n.  a person who leaves a country, political party, or organization and goes to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy

extremist – n. someone who has extreme ideas about politics, religion, etc.

initial – n. occurring at the beginning of something

sanction – n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country by not allowing economic aid for that country

zero-tolerance – n. a policy of giving the most severe punishment possible to every person who commits a crime or breaks a rule

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。