ISIS车弹袭巴格达市场67死

Islamic State Bombs Baghdad Market; 67 Dead ISIS车弹袭巴格达市场67死

Iraqi officials say a bomb explosion killed at least 67 people in a Shi'ite Muslim neighborhood of Baghdad Thursday. Many more were wounded. Officials say the explosives were in a truck that blew up at the crowded Jameela market in Sadr City.

The Islamic State group said it carried out the attack. The Sunni militant¹ group considers Shi’ites to be heretics.

The Iraqi government is fighting alongside Shi'ite militia² against the Islamic State group in several provinces. A U.S.-led campaign of airstrikes also is targeting the extremists.

Gallup: Americans give Obama low marks for Iran deal

A new study says only one in three Americans approves of how President Barack Obama dealt with the agreement on Iran's nuclear program. The Gallup research organization did the study.

The pollster questioned more than 1,000 people in recent days. It said Thursday that 55 percent disapproved³ of Mr. Obama's Iran policy and 33 percent approved of it.

The finding is similar to a study by Quinnipiac University. It said twice as many Americans oppose the international agreement with Iran as support it. The U.S. Congress plans to vote next month on whether to approve or reject the deal.

Gallup said that Mr. Obama's overall approval rating is at 47 percent.

Al-Qaida leader promises loyalty⁴ to Taliban chief

Al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri reportedly has promised allegiance to the new head of the Taliban.

The al Qaida leader appears to have made the statement in an online voice recording⁵. The recording expresses support for the choice of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour to replace supreme⁶ leader Mullah Mohammed Omar who, the Taleban said, died in late July.

Intelligence sources tell VOA that U.S. officials are studying the video.

US flag to fly Friday in Cuba

The U.S. flag will be raised Friday in Cuba. Cuba and the United States re-established diplomatic relations for the first time since the nineteen sixties. Secretary of State John Kerry will raise the flag over the U.S. embassy in Havana.

Cuban dissidents have not been invited to the flag raising ceremony.

Mr. Kerry is to meet with a small group of the dissidents at the home of the chief of the U.S. mission later Friday.

Cuba is located 145 kilometers off the southeastern U.S. coast, but the two countries broke off diplomatic ties in 1961 after Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.  The current Cuban leader, President Raul Castro, and U.S. President Barack Obama announced a resumption in relations last December.

Carter has cancer

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced Wednesday that he has cancer. He said it was discovered recently during liver surgery.

In a short statement, Mr. Carter did not say what kind of cancer he has. A more complete public statement will be made when facts are known, possibly next week, he said.

The former president established the Carter Foundation after leaving the White House in 1981. He has traveled the world working on issues like health care, democratic reform, women and children's rights, and affordable⁷ housing.

Words in the News

heretic – n. someone who believes or teaches something in opposition⁸ to official (religious) beliefs

pollster – n. a person or group who carries out a poll, a public opinion study

allegiance – n. loyalty to someone or something

resumption – n. to restart something that had been stopped

affordable – adj. something that is not so costly; something that can be bought without excessive expense

1 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。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 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》

4 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 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。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 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。