NPR 2011-04-02

The United Nations confirms at least seven of its international workers, both staff and guards, were killed today in northern Afghanistan when protesters stormed the office and opened fire. Officials at UN offices in New York say the final count could be higher with casualty figure still uncertain, as NPR's Quil Lawrence explains.

It's a small office. Many people were reported to be wounded, but again details are unclear. But certainly across the country, UN personnel are on security lockdown, and people are waiting to see if these protests might escalate¹ or spread to other places in Afghanistan.

NPR's Quil Lawrence on a deadly attack today stemming from protests over reports that a Florida pastor² had burned a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Koran. The presidents of Afghanistan and the US condemned³ the bloodshed.

Anti-government Libyan rebels in the western city of Misrata say forces loyal to leader Muammar Qaddafi have unleashed⁴ another intense bombardment on the city. As NPR's Eric Westervelt tells us, two rebel representatives have fled Misrata by boat to try to warn the international community of the deteriorating⁵ conditions on the ground.

Misrata rebel envoy⁶ Dr. Suleiman Fortia, one of the two who fled by boat to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, says conditions in Misrata are miserable⁷. There's extremely limited water and electricity, he says, as well as a shortage of baby food and formula and some medical supplies. Dr. Fortia says Qaddafi forces are using tanks, mortar⁸ rounds and other weapons to regularly pound the rebels' last western enclave.

"We have every day about 30 to 35 casualties, dead, daily."

UN special envoy Abdelilah Al-Khatib, who visited Benghazi today, said the UN is increasingly worried about worsening conditions in Misrata and called again on the Qaddafi regime to urgently allow unfettered humanitarian⁹ access to the beseiged city. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Benghazi.

Tens of thousands of protesters jamming the main square in the capital of Yemen today in what may have been the largest demonstrations¹⁰ yet against the country's long-time ruler. Opposition's hoping a turnout of a million people in protest across that country to press for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The unemployment rate in the US is down to a two-year low of 8.8% after the economy added 216,000 jobs in March. Many of the gains were in the private sector¹¹, as Mark Zandi, chief economist¹² of Moody's Analytic¹³, explains.

"The private sector is now really kicking in and providing a lot of jobs, and hopefully we'll continue to see that a month ahead."

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 56 points at 12,376 in trading of four billion shares. Before the close, NASDAQ had gained nine points. It was 2,790.

This is NPR News.

The United Nations is calling on Ivory Coast's UN-certified president-elect to rein¹⁴ in his forces as they battle for military control of the main city Abidjan. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports talk of serious human rights violations¹⁵ underway.

The office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner¹⁶ accuses Alassane Ouattara's loyalists of abductions, arbitrary arrests and the ill-treatment of civilians¹⁷. UN spokesman Rupert Colville says these alleged¹⁸ abuses must stop. 

"There should be no revenge acts taking place. The forces should show restraint. They might wish to bear in mind that an International Commission Inquiry¹⁹ is already being set up, and they might also want to remember that the International Criminal Court is engaged in Cote d'Ivoire"

There are also persistent²⁰ reports that security forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo are targeting and killing²¹ civilians. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Accra.

Britain is still debriefing²² Libya's ex-Foreign Minister Musa Kusa, the highest-ranking member of the Qaddafi regime, to resign. He defected to Britain earlier this week and immediately encountered damands to be put on trial for his alleged role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. The attack over Lockerbie, Scotland killed 270 people.

No evidence of spring in parts of New England today. Areas got walloped by heavy snow. Other parts are seeing a mix of rain and snow. [The] National Weather Service says the storm moved further eastward²³ than predicted, generating the potential for up to a foot of snow in some towns.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

1 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

2 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

8 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

13 analytic   

adj.分析的，用分析方法的

参考例句：

• The boy has an analytic mind. 这男孩有分析的头脑。
• Latin is a synthetic language,while English is analytic.拉丁文是一种综合性语言，而英语是一种分析性语言。

14 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

17 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

18 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

19 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

20 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

21 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

22 debriefing   

n.任务报告，任务报告中提出的情报v.向（外交人员等）询问执行任务的情况( debrief的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We've got the rescued soldiers in there for debriefing. 我们把被救的士兵带到了这里做一个报告。 来自电影对白
• Attention, all fighters are to return to moon base for debriefing. 注意，所有战斗机返回月球基地做任务报告。 来自互联网

23 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。