VOA news.Efforts in China to recover from a deadly earthquake, rescuers are being kept back by weather (conditions) and Syrian opposition groups receive more international aid.I'm Marti Johnson reporting from Washington.
Searching rescue teams are (struggling) today to reach remote areas of China's Sichuan Province where a powerful earthquake has killed more than 200 people and injured well over 11,000.After the quake Saturday morning,state media said hard-hit areas of Lushan county were not (reachable) by road with phone services cut off as well.In addition to (aftershocks),the teams are also suffering heavy rain storms,hampering their efforts to reach victims.Shannon Van Sant reports from Beijing.
Chinese state media report more than 200 killed and more than 10,000 injured. Luo Tongyang,a searching rescue volunteer is less than 10 kilometers away from the (epicenter) of the quake near the city of Ya'an.He says there are five- or six-hundred people including the elderly and the children who are in the streets and will not go back into their homes.A volunteer in Chengdu,Cheng Dongning,says since the 2008 earthquake,(construction) has improved in Chengdu and homes there are safe.The US geological survey (measured) the quake at 6.6 magnitude,aftershocks persisted for several hours.Late Saturday,Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived via helicopter to oversee rescue efforts.Shannon Van Sant,VOA news,Beijing.英语口语培训
US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced Washington will double its aid to Syrian opposition,(providing) $123 million in new funds.Kerry made the announcement today in Istanbul at a meeting with ten four ministers from other nations all (pledging) to help Syrian rebels fight Syrian government forces in the nation's two-year-old civil war.The new aid will help provide additional non-lethal supply such as body armor and right-vision goggles and but no actual (weapons) for the military wing of the National Coalition of Syriaian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says a major U.S. arms deal with Israel sends a very clear signal to Iran that military activity (remains) an option to keep Tehran from developing or using nuclear weapons. Hagel was questioned on the issue as his plane (approached) Tel Aviv today at the start of a six-day tour of the region focused on arms sale to Israel.The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia with talks on Iran and Syria as about whether Israel might consider a military strike on Iran.Hagle said Israel will make the decision as Israel must make to protect itself and (defend) itself but yet the U.S. and other nations still believe there is time for negotiations and (sanctions) to have an impact.
Voters in Ivory Coast began voting in (elections) today with tensions high after a boycott of the vote by former president Laurent Gbagbo's party,they are the first local elections in more than a (decade) in the French-speaking West African nation which has the largest economy in West Africa and the first time the government has organized a vote since a (disputed) presidential contest in 2010 that (plunged) the country into violence.Almost 700 candidates are vying for municipal seats with another 84 up for regional positions.易说堂电话英语
Election officials in Iraq are counting the votes today after yesterday's local elections,the first local elections since the US (withdrawal) in 2011.Edward Yeranian reports from Cairo.
Turnout was light to moderate at polling stations across the capital,Baghdad and in 11 other provinces where local council elections were held amid tight security,8000 candidates were (reportedly) vying for seats on the provincial councils.Observers say the vote is a barometer of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's (popularity) in the lead-up to next year's parliamentary election.Rivals Sunni politicians have been demanding that he step down.No major violence was reported Saturday despite (widespread0 fears that Sunni insurgents might try to disrupt the vote.Edward Yeranian for VOA news,Cairo.
19-year-old Boston marathon bombing suspect Dzhokah Tsarnaev is under heavy guard and unable to answer questions in serious conditions in a Boston hospital today,police caught him Friday night hiding in a boat in the (backyard) of a home in a Boston suburb called Watertown after 24-hour lockdown and manhunt.Federal prosecutors are still deciding the exact charges to bring against Tsarnaev who (allegedly) with his older brother Tamerlan now dead set off two bombs at the Boston Marathon last Monday,killing three and injuring 176 people.
I'm Marti Johnson,VOA news in Washington.There is more news and information on our website at voanews.com
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