BBC News with Fiona MacDonald

The political crisis in Ivory Coast is deepening amid disagreements about who won Sunday's presidential election run-off. The long-term President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to accept provisional results giving victory to the opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara. Mr Ouattara has declared himself the new head of state, and he's been backed by the UN secretary general, as Barbara Plett reports.

Ban Ki-moon issued a statement congratulating Alassane Ouattara on his election. He also called on President Gbagbo to cooperate in a smooth political transition. The secretary general was endorsing the position of his representative in the country, who has rejected final voting results declaring Mr Gbagbo's re-election and upheld provisional results supporting the opposition candidate. The UN has closely monitored the poll and is mandated to certify the outcome. Mr Ouattara has now declared himself the country's new leader amid high tensions. The presidential election was meant to restore stability after a civil war in 2002, but there are now fears it may lead to a return of violence.

Latest reports say a close aide to Mr Gbagbo has called for the expulsion of the main UN representative.

President Obama has warned of difficult days ahead in Afghanistan, despite significant progress being made in the fight against the Taliban, but he vowed that America would be victorious. Mr Obama was speaking to US troops during an unannounced visit to Afghanistan.

"It's a tough business. Progress comes slow. And there are going to be difficult days ahead. Progress comes at a high price. So many of you have stood before the solemn battle cross, the display of boots, a rifle, a helmet, and said goodbye to a fallen comrade. There are few days when I don't sign a letter to a military family expressing our nation's gratitude and grief at their profound sacrifice."

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told the BBC that she has spent a considerable amount of time over the past week reassuring world leaders about the conduct of American diplomacy. She was speaking in Bahrain in the wake of the Wikileaks controversy.

"I have personally expressed my regret to individual leaders as well as publicly to anyone who has been offended or affected. But this is a tough business we're in, and it's a challenging world and most leaders get it."

Mrs Clinton said the leaked diplomatic cables did not reflect US policy but were a way for diplomats to share information. She added that the authorities were examining ways of making confidential documents more secure.

Officials from Kenya's finance ministry have estimated that up to a third of the national budget is being swallowed up by corruption. The officials said the government was losing about $4bn a year.

World News from the BBC

Israeli police have arrested two men on suspicion of involvement in a huge forest fire that's raging out of control in northern Israel. The authorities say they suspect arson in a number of related fires, and investigators are looking for more culprits. An international effort is underway to help Israel with special aircraft and teams of firefighters to control the fire. At least 41 people have been killed, and more than 15,000 evacuated.

The Spanish government has warned it will allow the military to take control of the country's airspace unless air traffic controllers return to work. Officials said many had called in sick as part of a long-running pay dispute, causing the shutdown of several Spanish airports. More from Sarah Rainsford in Madrid.

Many passengers were left stranded inside planes on runways after the protest began this evening. It's the start of a national holiday here, and the airports are crowded with people who'd been planning a long weekend away. All flights in and out of Madrid, Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza have been cancelled, the result of a dispute over air traffic controllers' hours and conditions. The airport authority Aena has called the action irresponsible, accusing the controllers of holding the country hostage.

A court in Colombia has sentenced a former paramilitary commander, who's admitted ordering the killing of more than 4,000 people, to eight years in prison. The man, Jorge Ivan Laverde also known as the "Iguana", had originally been sentenced to 40 years in prison. But his sentence was reduced as part of an amnesty programme for paramilitaries willing to give up arms. He was found guilty of participating in at least 28 massacres.

The United Nations has warned that the cholera epidemic in Haiti could affect many more people than previously believed. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said health officials now estimate that 650,000 people could become infected over the next six months.

BBC News

1.provisional adj.暂时的;临时的

例句：All these conclusions are provisional.

所有这些结论都是暂时性的。

2.endorse v.赞同,认可,支持(意见,活动,某人等)

例句：No one is foolish enough to endorse it.

没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。

3.mandate vt.委任统治，授权，委托

4.certify vt.（尤指书面）证明, 证实

例句：The bank certified my accounts.

银行核实了我的账目。

5.considerable adj.相当大(或多)的

例句：It is a considerable sum of money.

那是一笔数量可观的钱。

They have given the plan considerable attention.

他们已经给予这个计划以相当多的注意。

6.arson n.纵火(罪)

例句：The police suspect arson.

警方怀疑有人纵火。

7.culprit n.犯过错者, 罪犯

例句：Are you the culprit who broke this window?

你就是那个打破窗户的人吗?

8.irresponsible adj.不负责任的

例句：The mischief arose from irresponsible gossip.

这种不幸的事是因无聊的闲话而引起的。

1.President Obama has warned of difficult days ahead in Afghanistan, despite significant progress being made in the fight against the Taliban, but he vowed that America would be victorious.

warn of发出关于…的警告

例句：The weather station warned of severe snowfalls ahead.

气象台预报将有大雪。

2.She was speaking in Bahrain in the wake of the Wikileaks controversy.

in the wake of尾随,紧跟,仿效

例句：There were a lot of fallen trees in the wake of the storm.

暴风雨之后，很多树倒了。

3.Officials from Kenya's finance ministry have estimated that up to a third of the national budget is being swallowed up by corruption.

swallow up淹没,耗尽

例句：The increase in travel cost swallow up our pay increase.

旅行费用的增加耗尽了我们的工资增长。

4.But his sentence was reduced as part of an amnesty programme for paramilitaries willing to give up arms.

give up放弃;投降，认输; 猜不出

例句：I can't answer that puzzle; I give up.

我猜不出这个谜语, 我认输了。

She will give up this journey.

她将放弃这次旅行。

abandon，desert，forsake，leave，give up

这些动词或词组均含“抛弃、放弃”之意

abandon强调永远或完全放弃或抛弃人或事物等，这可能是被迫的，也可能是自愿的。

desert着重指违背法律责任和义务，或自己的信仰与誓言的行为，多含非难的意味。

forsake侧重断绝感情上的依恋，自愿抛弃所喜欢的人或物。也指抛弃信仰或改掉恶习。

leave普通用词，指舍弃某事或某一职业，或终止同一某人的关系，但不涉及动机与果。

give up普通用语，侧重指没有希望或因外界压力而放弃。

1.Officials said many had called in sick as part of a long-running pay dispute, causing the shutdown of several Spanish airports.

causing the shutdown现在分词作结果状语

(1)分词在句子中作状语，可以表示时间、条件、原因、结果、让步、伴随等。分词做状语时，它的逻辑主语与句子的主语一致。作状语的分词相当于一个状语从句。

Hearing the news, they all jumped with joy. Using what you know of word stems and word formations, you can make a guess at the meaning of a new word.

(2)分词在句子中作状语，使用何种分词，要取决于分词与句子主语的关系：主谓关系用现在分词，动宾或被动关系用过去分词。

Not shaving enough hands, we turned to them for help.(we don't have enough hands).

Taught by mistakes and setbacks, we have become wiser and handled our affairs better. (We are taught / teach us).

(3)现在分词或过去分词作状语时，有时可以在分词前加 while，when, once, although, until, if 等连词。

When leaving the airport, she waved again and again to us. While waiting for the train, I had a long talk with my sister about her work.