VOA慢速英语2015 尼日利亚总统古德勒克·乔纳森承认失败

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan Admits Defeat 尼日利亚总统古德勒克·乔纳森承认失败

 

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has called his opponent, Muhammadu Buhari, to concede the election, according to a VOA reporter in Abuja.

Presidential election results on Tuesday showed Mr. Buhari led President Jonathan by almost 2 million votes, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission. He also won at least 25 percent of the vote in at least 24 states, as required by Nigeria’s constitution.

The result marks the first time in Nigeria’s history that a current president lost an election. It also marks the end of the 16-year-rule of Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr. Buhari, 72, is from the north and served as the country's military ruler in 1984 and 1985 following a coup¹.

Iran, US willing to continue nuclear talks Wednesday

Iran says it is willing to continue talks with six world powers for a deal on Tehran's nuclear program. Talks will continue into Wednesday, with the original midnight deadline passing.

A member of Iran's negotiating team said Iranian officials will continue to negotiate until the disputed issues are resolved and a deal is reached. 

The White House said it is willing to continue the negotiations² into Wednesday as long as the talks are productive.

Iran and the group of nations have a history of extending their deadlines. They've done so twice since agreeing to a short-term nuclear deal in November 2013.

U.S. Treasury³ targets Syrian banker and companies with sanctions

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday placed sanctions on a Syrian official and three companies it said were helping⁴ the Syrian government.

Reuters news agency said the Treasury Department’s sanctions targeted an official of the Central Bank of Syria. The department also targeted one Syria-based company and two companies in Lebanon for working with a Syrian weapons agency that the Treasury Department said had connections to Syria's chemical weapons program.

Myanmar government, rebels sign draft peace deal

The government of Myanmar and representatives from 16 major ethnic⁵ rebel groups have signed a draft cease-fire accord that aims to end decades of armed conflict.

Speaking at Tuesday's signing in Yangon, President Thein Sein praised the peace deal as the first step towards holding political dialogue with the rebel groups.

Before a final deal is signed, the rebels first plan to hold a conference to finalize⁶ the terms. No date for the conference has been set.

The United Nations praised the draft of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, or NCA, as a "historic and significant achievement."

Words in the News:

opponent – n. a person, team, group, etc., that is competing against another in a contest or election

concede – v. to admit that you have been defeated, and stop trying to win

negotiator – n. a person who is involved in formal financial or political discussions in order to try to reach an agreement

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,

draft – n. a version of something (such as a document) that you make before you make the final version

1 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。