VOA新聞聽力教程News No.13

[00:00.00] News No. 13 At 18 hours universal time. Here is the news on the Voice of America. [00:10.40]I'm Steve Norman in Washington. [00:12.80]13.1 The leader of the temporary government in Chechnya is hailing a decision by Russia [00:16.38]to remove its remaining troops from the breakaway republic. [00:19.85]Rebel leader Asian Maskhadov says the move is proof that the Chechen crisis can be resolved without more fighting. [00:18.85]Mr.Maskhadov's comments came one day after he signed an accord with the Russian President,Prime Minister, [00:25.10]that is,Viktor Chenomyrdin,formalizing relations between Chechnya and the Kremlin until a local election can be held early next year. [00:32.62]13.2 Voters in Belarus are casting ballots in a controversial referendum hitting President Aleksandr Lukashenkov and members of parliament. [00:40.85]From the capital of Belarus,Minsk,VOA's Peter Heinline reports opposition leaders are boycotting the vote. [00:47.33]A confident President Lukashenkov,cast his ballot in front of the cameras Sunday, [00:51.17]then lashed out at lawmakers trying to impeach him. [01:00.18]The Belarus leader expressed hope members of parliament would drop their opposition once [01:04.15]they realize most voters support his proposal to expand presidential powers. [01:08.25]He said if opposition continued his draft constitution gives him authority to dissolve the legislature. [01:17.18]Outside parliament,Sunday,hundreds of angry demonstrators shouted their opposition to the referendum,calling it unconstitutional. [01:24.84]Many lawmakers said they would boycott the vote,but admitted that Mr.Lukashenkov's proposal [01:29.15]would probably pass because his control of the media gives him unfair advantage. [01:33.67]The Belarus leader earlier agreed to make the referendum advisory in nature [01:36.70]in return for a promise from lawmakers to drop impeachment proceedings. [01:41.03]However,he went back on his word Saturday and said the results will be legally binding. [01:45.34]Officials say they expect to announce the outcome of the vote Monday. Peter Heinline, VOA news, Minsk. [01:50.39]13.3 Heavy fighting is broken out in Afghanistan for the first time in two weeks [01:54.57]with troops loyal to the ousted government confronting Taliban fighters near Kabul. [01:59.29]The Taliban says they took the village of Godala and the nearby district of New Basakud in a major offensive. [02:05.75]The information could not be independently confirmed. [02:08.52]However, our reporter on the scene said the sound of rocket [02:11.41]and artillery fire was clearly heard in Kabul itself about 20 kilometers from the battle lines. [02:17.06]There was no word on casualties or damage. [02:19.83]13.4 Rebels in eastern Zaire say the United Nations is inflating [02:23.72]the numbers of Rwandan refugees around Coma and placed inflating the figures, that is. [02:28.86]As VOA' s Scott Stern reports, [02:31.89]there are conflicting reports throughout the region about the number and location of refugees. [02:36.28]United Nations Refugee Agency says it has an eyewitness account of more than 175,000 refugees trapped in the town of Gindi about 60 kilometers south of Goma. [02:46.52]The report says armed men are keeping women and children in an area about a kilometer from Lake Kivu. [02:52.35]The commander of rebel forces in the area says there are some refugees in Gindi, but he says there are nowhere near 175,000 people the UN claims. [03:01.39]The issue of how many refugees are left in eastern Zaire and where they're headed is at the center of negotiation on [03:07.19]whether to send international humanitarian intervention force. [03:10.61]Rwanda's government and Zairian rebels say there is no longer any need for such a force [03:15.08]following the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Zaire. [03:18.78]Zaire' s government and most international aid agencies believe an intervention force is still needed.Scott Stern,VOA news, Goma. [03:26.54]13.5 In a few hours, President Clinton and other Asia Pacific [03:29.18]leaders will gather in the Philippine capital for their annual economics summit. [03:34.01]Several of the 18 heads of state and government held private talks on Sunday. [03:37.93]The highlight was the meeting between President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin. [03:43.42]The two agreed to work on mending the troubled relations between the two countries [03:47.05]and to exchange visits to each other's capitals in the next two years. [03:51.02]American officials accompanying President Clinton to the conference say they intend to proceed with summit plans [03:56.56]despite constant disputes between China and the U.S. over human rights,trade and Taiwan. [04:02.41]As a first step to the summits, U.S. [04:04.68]Vice President Al Gore will travel to China in the first half of next year. [04:43.34]13.6 President Clinton' s wife Hillary has received a warm welcome in Thailand, [04:46.66]where she has arrived a day and a half ahead of her husband. [04:49.51]Mrs. Clinton left the President at the APEC summit in Manila Sunday, [04:52.90]and flew to the town of Shangrai in the rugged hills of northern Thailand. [04:56.74]There she will visit a school that aims to stop poor families from selling their daughters into prostitution. [05:02.44]She also visited a remote village and met with girls who have received vocational training at that school. [05:08.03]At each location,the U.S. First Lady was greeted with colorful fanfare, [05:12.05]even though hertrip is highlighting Thailand's most tragic social problem of selling the young girls in the sex trade. [05:19.10]This is the Voice of America. [05:21.69]13.7 Reports continue to find survivors of the crash of a hijacked Ethiopian airliner and to retrieve bodies of its victims. [05:31.20]The plane crash-landed in the Ocean off the Comoros Islands Saturday. [05:34.99]Airport officials say 52 passengers and crew members survived that crash. [05:39.74]But more than 60 others are still missing. [05:41.96]Two of the survivors were hijackers. [05:44.36]They have been identified by airliner officials as Ethiopian nationals. [05:48.13]Divers there in the Indian Ocean are reported to have seen two dozen other bodies in the wreckage of the plane. [05:53.93]13.8 The chief UN arms inspector in charge of assuring the dismantling of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction [06:00.06]says his agency soon could be forced to close without funds. [06:04.30]In Kuwait, on a fund raising trip of wealthy Gulf Arab nations, [06:08.58]Ralph Acus told reporters in the UN special commission on disarming Iraq will have exhausted all of its funds by the end of the year. [06:16.21]Mr.Acus said Kuwait was expressly interested in getting more money to the group. [06:22.45]They need about 30 million dollars to continue to function. [06:25.69]13.9 A car bomb near Algiers has killed five people and injured at least fifteen. [06:30.29]Jessica Jones reports from our Middle East Bureau that the blast comes only a few days [06:34.86]before a nation-wide referendum for constitutional reform. [06:38.46]Algerian security officials say the bomb exploded in the town of Blida,50 kilometers south of Algiers. [06:44.58]The statement published by the Algerian News Agency gave no further details. [06:49.12]But witnesses say the car bomb went off in a central square of the town. [06:53.07]Blida contains military headquarters for Algiers and the surrounding area. [06:57.61]Violence in Algeria has escalated sharply in the pastmonth. [07:01.16]More than 120 people,mostly civilians,have been killed. [07:05.48]Algerians are voting Thursday on constitutional reform to set the framework for parliamentary elections. [07:11.46]The reforms include a ban on political parties based on religion. [07:15.43]Algerian President Leenin Zerwal has promised to hold,parliamentary elections early next year. [07:20.86]No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. [07:23.76]Authorities usually blame Muslim militants who want to overthrow the government and establish Islamic rule. [07:29.53]Jessica Jones,for VOA news, Cairo. [07:32.69]13.10 Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has resubmitted for a third time a petition challenging her dismissal [07:39.30]and it appears that Supreme Court may be ready to hear her case. [07:42.62]A registrar in the court says the third draft does not contain anything objectionable [07:47.14]and that the petition will be put before the court in due course. [07:50.64]The registrar gave no time limit,but Ms.Bhutto's Attorney Asitas Arsan says he hopes the hearing will begin soon. [07:57.64]"I think once it goes beyond the registrar,then the court will give us a hearing and we'll make all our submissions [08:06.60]on whatever we want to say before the court." [08:08.93]The court registrar rejected two previous challenges filed by Mrs.Bhutto's lawyers as unacceptable. [08:14.70]President Fraruk Leghari fired Ms.Bhutto November 5th on what he called corruption and misrule charges. [08:20.66]13.11 Doctors treating Mother Teresa say she is making progress after suffering renewed heart failure [08:25.78]and is in a near stable condition at a Calcuutta hospital. [08:29.33]A cardiologist says the 86-year-old Roman Catholic missionary still suffers from shortness of breath and an irregular heart beat. [08:36.43]13.12 These are the hour's news headlines. [08:39.05]A Chechen rebel leader hails Russia's decision to remove its last troops from the breakaway republic. [08:44.35]President Lukashenkov of Belarus votes in the controversial referendum on broadening his powers and extending his term. [08:51.09]Heavy fighting breaks out in Afghanistan for the first time in two weeks. [08:54.95]And Mother Teresa listed in stable condition after more heart problems. [08:58.87]That's the news on the Voice of America.

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