Sunday, March 20, 2011

US, Allies Attack Libya

Photo: AP/U.S. Navy, Fireman Roderick Eubanks

This Saturday, March 19, 2011 photo provided by the U.S. Navy shows the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) as it launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn from the Mediterranean Sea .

U.S.-led coalition forces have launched more than 100 Tomahawk missiles on key air defense sites across Libya as part of operations to protect the population from the forces of long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi.

U.S. Vice Admiral William Gortney outlined what is being called "Operation Odyssey Dawn" several hours after he said the missiles started hitting more than 20 Libyan sites.

"The United States military has and will continue to use our unique capabilities to create the conditions from which we and our partners can best enforce the full measure of the U.N. mandate. Our mission right now is to shape the battle space in such a way that our partners may take the lead in execution," he said.

He said Admiral Sam Locklear was leading the operations from the USS Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean Sea.

A U.N. Security Council resolution was approved Thursday in New York allowing outside forces to use all measures necessary to protect civilians in Libya, where eastern rebel-controlled areas have been under attack.

Admiral Gortney said one British submarine was used as part of Saturday’s strikes as well as U.S. ships and submarines. He described Libya’s air defense sites as being built with old Soviet technology.

He said some countries who were taking part in the military operation had asked to be identified, while others wanted to announce their involvement themselves.

"Of the coalition, the countries that have asked us to mention their names, of course, the United States, UK, French, Italy and Canada. The other countries have asked for them, that they want to be able to make the announcement and it is the same for the Arab countries as well," he said.

A mediation delegation from the African Union was due in the capital Tripoli Sunday, but as sites in and around Tripoli were also reported hit, it was unclear if that mission would go ahead.

Earlier Saturday, French fighter planes which had departed from France flew over Libya bombing at least one tank that a senior French military official identified as belonging to forces loyal to Mr. Gadhafi.

Leaders from France, Britain and the United States have said the operations are necessary and that Mr. Gadhafi’s forces were still staging attacks despite warnings to stop.

Libya’s head of parliament, Abdul Qasim al-Zuai denied this, saying a ceasefire was in place and that the missile strikes were what he called a "barbaric aggression" from Western powers. He said civilian areas and civilian infrastructure were being targeted.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Gadhafi wrote a letter to President Obama and other world leaders saying they would regret what he called "intervention in the internal affairs of Libya."

Libyan state media said the strikes caused casualties in Tripoli.

At a summit earlier Saturday in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Libyans like other Arabs were fighting for democracy and freedom from oppressive regimes and that it was the duty of outside powers to help them.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron said British forces were helping end what he called "the appalling brutality" of Mr. Gadhafi’s government.

Several countries have spoken out against the operations including Russia and Venezuela. Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said it was irresponsible to create more deaths and more war.

The International Committee of the Red Cross called on all warring parties to spare civilians and respect international humanitarian law.

The armed rebellion against Mr. Gadhafi began last month, following people power movements which successfully toppled long-time leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and spurred uprisings across north Africa and the Middle East.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Helicopters Douse Quake-Damaged Nuclear Plant with Water

Photo: AFP - NHK

This screengrab taken off Japanese national broadcaster NHK shows a Japanese military twin-rotor cargo helicopter dumping water onto reactor no. 3 at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant on March 17, 2011.

A top U.S. nuclear official says there is a significant risk of dangerous levels of radiation from the plant, which was damaged last week in a massive earthquake and resulting tsunami. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko told lawmakers in Washington Wednesday that cooling systems inside the plant have failed, making it very difficult to keep the fuel rods cool.

Japanese officials have deployed military helicopters to dump water over the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to try to cool down overheated reactors inside.

The officials are trying to avert a catastrophic radiation leak from spent fuel rods inside the plant's reactors. Japanese television Thursday morning showed helicopters dumping water over the plant from huge buckets.

A top U.S. nuclear official says there is a significant risk of dangerous levels of radiation from the plant, which was damaged last week in a massive earthquake and resulting tsunami. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko told lawmakers in Washington Wednesday that cooling systems inside the plant have failed, making it very difficult to keep the fuel rods cool.

In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency said temperatures in three of the reactors at the Japanese plant have been rising. It called the situation "very serious."
Nuclear fuel rods remain extremely hot for weeks or months, even when they are not in use. Without steady supplies of water to keep the fuel rods cool, their outer casings can melt and release large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
At the time of the earthquake, only three reactors were in use at the plant. They were inside thick concrete-and-steel chambers designed to contain radiation, even if molten fuel rods melt down. Explosions have severely damaged the outer buildings of all three of the units.

Elsewhere, the plight of thousands of people left homeless by the earthquake and tsunami has worsened after a cold snap brought snow to the worst-affect areas. Officials report that supplies of water and heating oil are low at evacuation centers, where many survivors are bundled in blankets.

Tens of thousands of households in northeastern Japan are still without electricity in near-freezing weather. The government says at least 1.5 million households in the area lack running water.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Republicans Vote to Cut $61 Billion In Government Spending

Photo: AP

Congressmen walk down the steps of the House of Representatives as they work throughout the night on a spending bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 18, 2011

Efforts to cut the U.S. federal budget to counter a rising deficit projected at $1.6 trillion this year are now moving to the Democratic Party dominated Senate.
The Republican controlled House of Representatives passed a bill early Saturday with about $60 billion in spending cuts.
During Saturday’s early morning debate House Speaker John Boehner said the next few months will be the most important Washington has seen in decades.
In a vote which ended at four in the morning, lawmakers voted almost entirely along party lines. Most Republicans were in favor of the bill to cut current spending by about 14 percent, while Democrats were in opposition.
The bill is a stop-gap measure known as a continuing resolution. It establishes spending levels for the rest of the fiscal year ending in September.
But Democratic lawmakers in the Senate have promised to remove many of the bill’s cuts.
These include eliminating spending to carry out President Barack Obama’s recently signed health care reform law. The cuts also target federal funding for family planning, the government’s ability to enforce environmental regulations, education programs, subsidies for the poor and foreign aid.
The bill does include increases, such as a nearly two percent rise for defense spending, despite some internal Republican opposition.
During the House debate, California Republican John Campbell was one of those urging deeper defense cuts. "There are many weapons systems funded in the Defense Department which the Defense Department does not want. They are there because of influential members of Congress who have put them in. Defense has always been the most earmarked section of the entire budget," he said.
Democratic lawmakers, such as Georgia’s Sanford Bishop, warned against cuts that would affect war veterans. “If this bill is signed into law it will hurt our economic recovery which in turn will affect our veterans. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are unemployed, far higher than the national jobless rate. If we follow through with some of these disastrous cuts we will see that rate go higher," he said.
The Senate is expected to spend the next few weeks debating and writing its own version of a government funding bill. Senate Democrats say they also want to begin shrinking the deficit, but not the way House Republicans voted for.
If no compromise is found by March 4, when current funding expires, a U.S. government shutdown becomes a possibility, unless all parties, including Democratic President Obama, can agree on a short-term spending bill.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Egyptians Celebrate Mubarak Departure, Look to Future

Photo: AP

Egyptians celebrate on Tahrir Square in Cairo, February 12, 2011

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Egyptians Celebrate Mubarak Departure, Look to Future

Luis Ramirez | Cairo February 12, 2011

Photo: AP

Egyptians celebrate on Tahrir Square in Cairo, February 12, 2011

Egyptians are cleaning up after celebrations that followed the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's leader of nearly 30 years. The military, which assumed control of the country, on Saturday said Mr. Mubarak's Cabinet will remain in place for now while Egypt transitions to a democratic system. The military also vowed to "remain committed to all regional and international" accords including peace treaties, confirming Egypt's landmark 1979 peace treaty with Israel would remain intact.

Saturday was a day of cleaning at Tahrir Square and throughout Central Cairo even as celebrations were going on. Groups of people went to the streets and to the square with brooms and dustpans in hand to help clear up the filth and debris that built up during the 18 days of demonstrations.

Some wore banners on their clothing that said “yesterday I was a demonstrator, today I am building Egypt.”

24-year-old architect Rania Tamoum says it was important for her to show she wants to be a part of the rebuilding process. “It's our country. It's our responsibility, so we have to clean it,” she said.

Tamoum joined thousands of others in celebrating Hosni Mubarak's resignation. She said she has not thought about a blueprint for the future, since her only goal while demonstrating was to see Mr. Mubarak go.

“Actually, I cannot say what clearly I want. I can say that I want a better Egypt. I really want a new government. We don't want any of the icons or the symbols of the old government,” said Tamoum.

The mood was jovial Saturday, even as celebrations were winding down. A group of men sang an Islamic song, as they walked off the square. Some people began taking down the tents where they have been camping out, and preparing to go home. Some are staying.

Abdel Hamed Taha, an imam, said Mr. Mubarak's departure was only the beginning of the changes he wants to see. He will remain on the square.

He says he is at the square to follow up on what he says was the victory of the revolution. He said demonstrators have achieved only one of the demands, and he wants a dialogue with the army.

The transition is now in the hands of the military, which has promised to hand over power to an elected civilian government. The demonstrators demanded free and transparent elections in which all groups - including the banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood can participate. They also want a lifting of emergency laws, and a re-writing of the constitution.

A spokesman for Egypt's supreme council of the armed forces on Saturday said it has asked the existing Cabinet to stay in a caretaker capacity. He also said Egypt will respect its existing international agreements that include a peace treaty with Israel.

Over the past few days, the army has emerged as heroic in the eyes of many Egyptians for not cracking down on the demonstrators. On Saturday, tanks stayed in their positions throughout central Cairo. People took pictures with soldiers, and children handed them flowers.

Now, Egyptians are counting on the military to take the country to the next step, and deliver on the promises of a change for the better.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Fish Farms May Soon Supply More Than Half the World's Catch

Photo: AP

Fishermen at a fish farm in central Hungary in December. Hungary is rich in waterways, but traditionally most Hungarians eat fish only at Christmastime.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Traditional fisheries may no longer be the world’s most important provider of fish. A new United Nations report shows that fish farming or aquaculture may soon lead fish production.
The Food and Agriculture Organization says aquaculture is growing by a rate of 6.6 percent a year.
Aquaculture now produces forty-six percent of the world’s supply of fish. That represents a forty-three percent increase from two thousand six. The report also said aquaculture earned more money in two thousand eight than traditional fisheries.
The FAO headquarters in Rome published the document, "State of the World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture."
In aquaculture, fish are raised in tanks or small bodies of water called ponds. They also are raised in cages or nets in oceans, lakes and rivers.
The report says increased aquaculture has helped people around the world eat record amounts of fish. The FAO says each person ate an average of almost seventeen kilograms of fish last year.
But the FAO says the current yearly wild-fish harvest of ninety million tons shows no improvement. Decreasing numbers of fish and stronger catch limits have reduced the possibilities for catching wild fish.
The FAO report says about thirty-two percent of world supplies are overfished, depleted or recovering. It said these supplies of fish need to be urgently rebuilt.
Some scientists have criticized aquaculture. They say the nets and cages permit fish diseases and pests to spread.
Some aquaculture critics doubt that aquaculture can keep growing at the current rate. But Wally Stevens of the trade group Global Aquaculture Alliance says the industry must continue developing to feed growing populations.
Mr. Stevens says a one hundred percent increase in fish farming over ten years is necessary to keep providing for people at the current level. He notes that aquaculture creates jobs and wealth, especially for people in coastal areas of China.
The FAO reports that China remains the world’s largest fish-producing nation. China produces more than sixty percent of the world’s farmed fish.
And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Our programs are online with transcripts and MP3 files at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Bob Doughty.

A Fatter World, Yet Fewer Cases of High Blood Pressure

Photo: AP

People taking part in Argentinian TV show "A Matter of Weight" in 2007

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Last week a study of one hundred ninety-nine countries and territories confirmed what many people may have already noticed. People around the world are getting fatter. The study found that obesity has almost doubled since nineteen eighty.
Majid Ezzati at Imperial College London led the research team. He says the results show that obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are no longer just found in wealthy nations. These are now worldwide problems.
The study appeared in the Lancet. It shows that in two thousand eight, almost ten percent of men were obese. That was up from about five percent in nineteen eighty. That same year, almost eight percent of women were obese. By two thousand eight, the rate of obesity among women was almost fourteen percent.
Obesity is commonly measured by body mass index, or BMI. This is a measure of a person's weight in relation to height. A person with a BMI of twenty-five to twenty-nine is considered overweight. The World Health Organization defines obesity as a body mass index of thirty or more.
Pacific island nations have an average BMI of around thirty-five -- the highest in the world.
But the study found that the United States had the single highest average among wealthy countries. Men and women had an average BMI of over twenty-eight. New Zealand was next. Japan had the lowest, at about twenty-two for women and twenty-four for men.
The report had some good news, however, about high blood pressure,. The percentage of people with this major cause of heart attacks and strokes has fallen since nineteen eighty. Dr. Ezzati credits improved testing and treatment in wealthy countries. He says a decrease in the use of salt and unhealthful fats probably also helped.
In the United States, new guidelines urge Americans to reduce salt, sugar and fatty meats and to eat more fish and whole grains. People are being urged to choose water over sugared drinks and to make fruits and vegetables half of a meal. But whatever they eat, Americans are being urged to follow new advice from the government: eat less.
Lynn Goldman, dean of public health at George Washington University, praised the dietary guidelines released last week.
LYNN GOLDMAN: "This is a call to go back to older ways of eating, to eating whole foods, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, more healthy foods. And hopefully these guidelines will be noticed worldwide and people will take steps to both increase their physical activity and to eat healthier."
And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.

'Lincoln Portrait': Music of Copland, Words of a Leader

Photo: AP

A National Park Service ranger at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington talks about the 16th president on February 12, 2010, his 201st birthday

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Shirley Griffith. This week on our program, Rich Kleinfeldt and I tell the story of President Abraham Lincoln. His birthday is February twelfth.
(MUSIC)
RICH KLEINFELDT: Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth American president. He is considered one of the greatest leaders of all time. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in eighteen nine. He grew up in Illinois. His family was poor and had no education.
Abraham Lincoln taught himself what he needed to know. He became a lawyer. He served in the Illinois state legislature and in the United States Congress. In eighteen sixty, he was elected to the country's highest office.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: President Lincoln led the United States during the Civil War between the northern and southern states. This was the most serious crisis in American history.
President Lincoln helped end slavery in the nation. And he helped keep the American union from splitting apart during the war. President Lincoln believed that he proved to the world that democracy can be a lasting form of government.
RICH KLEINFELDT: In eighteen sixty-three, President Lincoln gave what became his most famous speech. Union armies of the North had won two great victories that year. They defeated the Confederate armies of the South at Vicksburg, Mississippi and at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Ceremonies were held to honor the dead soldiers at a burial place on the Gettysburg battlefield.
President Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg for only about two minutes. But his speech has never been forgotten. Historians say the speech defined Americans as a people who believed in freedom, democracy and equality.
Abraham Lincoln wrote some of the most memorable words in American history. He was murdered a few days after the Civil War ended in eighteen sixty-five. Yet his words live on.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Here is Christopher Cruise reading the Gettysburg Address:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can not hallow, this ground – The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.
It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Abraham Lincoln

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: In nineteen forty-two, orchestra conductor Andre Kostelanitz asked composer Aaron Copland to write a piece of music about Abraham Lincoln. Copland was one of the best modern American composers. He wrote many kinds of music. His music told stories about the United States.
Aaron Copland wrote "Lincoln Portrait" to honor the president. Copland's music included parts of American folk songs and songs popular during the Civil War. Here is the Seattle Symphony playing part of "Lincoln Portrait."

(MUSIC)

RICH KLEINFELDT: Aaron Copland added words from President Lincoln's speeches and letters to his "Lincoln Portrait." It has been performed many times in the United States. Many famous people have read the words.
To celebrate Presidents Day, here is actor James Earl Jones reading part of Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait."

(MUSIC)

JAMES EARL JONES: “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.” That is what he said. That is what Abraham Lincoln said: “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We – even we here – hold the power and bear the responsibility … “

Lincoln was a quiet man. Abe Lincoln was a quiet and melancholy man. But, when he spoke of Democracy, this is what he said:

He said: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of Democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.”

Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of these United States, is everlasting in the memory of his countrymen, for on the battleground at Gettysburg this is what he said:

He said: “That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion: that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; and that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. Our engineer was Al Alevy. I’m Shirley Griffith.

(MUSIC)

RICH KLEINFELDT: And I'm Rich Kleinfeldt. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program THIS IS AMERICA.

Learning: online learning resources

Sunday, March 20, 2011

US, Allies Attack Libya

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Helicopters Douse Quake-Damaged Nuclear Plant with Water

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Republicans Vote to Cut $61 Billion In Government Spending

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Egyptians Celebrate Mubarak Departure, Look to Future

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Egyptians Celebrate Mubarak Departure, Look to Future

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Fish Farms May Soon Supply More Than Half the World's Catch

A Fatter World, Yet Fewer Cases of High Blood Pressure

'Lincoln Portrait': Music of Copland, Words of a Leader