塔利班证实其领导人奥马尔死亡

Taliban Confirms Death of Leader Mullah Omar 塔利班证实其领导人奥马尔死亡

The Taliban officially confirmed Thursday that its founder¹ and leader, Mullah Omar, is dead.  The Taliban Supreme² Council also named Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as its new leader.

The Taliban did not indicate when Mullah Omar died. On Wednesday, the Afghan government said he died two years ago.  

Earlier Thursday, the Pakistani government said Afghan peace talks would be postponed³ at the request of the Afghan Taliban.

Boko Haram hostages rescued

The Nigerian army said Thursday it rescued 59 women, children, and older men who had been captured by Islamic militants⁴.

Army officials say soldiers raided hideouts of the Boko Haram group near the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

The officials say many Boko Haram militants were killed in the rescue operation. The army also said it seized weapons and vehicles.

Boko Haram militants often raid villages and kidnap people, forcing them to become Muslim.

Huge jump in support for presidential candidate Donald Trump⁵

The latest voter study shows American businessman Donald Trump with a big lead in the Republican Party presidential race. The Quinnipiac University national poll has Mr. Trump in the lead with 20 percent. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is next with 13 percent. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush comes in third with 10 percent.

The number of Republican candidates has grown to 17. Former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore entered the race on Wednesday.

US opens investigation⁶ of lion kill

The United States government said Thursday it would investigate the killing⁷ in Zimbabwe of a protected lion. An American man, Walter James Palmer, hunted and killed the beloved lion known as Cecil.

U.S. investigators⁸ said they had not been able to reach Mr. Palmer, a dentist in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  

Also, President Obama’s administration said it will examine a U.S. public request to send Mr. Palmer to Zimbabwe for legal action. An administration official said the petition had more than 100,000 signatures.

Words in the News

indicate – v. to show (something)

hideout – n. a place where someone (such as a criminal) hides to avoid being found or captured

poll – n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

petition – n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something

signature – n. a person's name written in that person's handwriting

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 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。

7 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。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》