BBC News with Jonathan Izard
The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has defended US military operations in Afghanistan. She was responding to criticism from the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who had said that such operations, especially night raids, by American special forces should stop as they disrupt daily life. Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.
Hillary Clinton forcefully defended the American military and civilian strategy in Afghanistan. She said the military operations were having a significant impact on the insurgent leadership and their networks, and she said they were also in the best interest of the Afghan people and their government. She added that the use of intelligence-driven, precision-targeted operations against high-value insurgents and their networks was a key component of the strategy. She insisted those were conducted in full partnership with the government of Afghanistan and pointed out that Afghan forces were included on each operation. But Mrs Clinton did acknowledge that Washington was sensitive to concerns expressed by President Karzai.
A huge fire has destroyed a high-rise apartment building in Shanghai, killing at least 42 people. At least 90 others were injured. This survivor spoke of an urgent need for assistance.
"All of my relatives and friends have been driving to all the different hospitals. As a family member, what can I do in this situation? How can I calm down? I have only one thing to say - I ask the Communist Party to come and help quickly."
The 28-storey building in a busy central district of Shanghai housed more than 150 families. It was being renovated when the fire broke out.
One of the candidates in Guinea's run-off election, Cellou Dalein Diallo, has declared himself president as his supporters burnt tyres and set up barricades in the capital Conakry. Mr Diallo, the front-runner in the first round, earlier described the election as fraudulent. Here is Thomas Fessy.
Despite a ban on political demonstrations, Mr Diallo's supporters took to the streets before being dispersed by security forces. Residents heard gunshots, but it's still unclear whether there are any casualties. The results were due to be announced by noon on Monday, but that deadline has been missed. On Sunday, Mr Diallo said he had evidence of fraud in some voting districts, and he requested that the election body investigate further. Earlier today, his rival candidate Alpha Conde, a veteran opposition leader in the country, suggested that he'd won the election.
And in the last few minutes, it's been announced that Alpha Conde has won Guinea's presidential election. The electoral commission said preliminary results showed that he had taken just over 52% of the vote.
There is growing concern over the debt problems that have engulfed Portugal and Ireland. The Portuguese finance minister said contagion was moving like wildfire and that no eurozone country could feel safe. A BBC correspondent said it could be only a matter of time before Ireland asked to be bailed out by the European Union, as Greece was in May.
World News from the BBC
There have been violent protests in Haiti against United Nations peacekeepers, who have been blamed for a cholera epidemic that's killed more than 900 people. UN troops fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators throwing stones and blocking roads in Cap Haitien, Haiti's second city. Some Haitians have accused peacekeepers from Nepal of introducing cholera to Haiti for the first time in a century. The UN says no evidence has been found to justify the accusation, but the cholera strain has been matched to one from South Asia.
The US government says that almost 17.5 million American households had trouble feeding themselves adequately last year because of their financial difficulties. The Department of Agriculture said the number had not risen from 2008, despite a sharp increase in unemployment, and many families would have faced far more severe problems without help from the federal government.
The social networking site Facebook has launched a new messaging service that seeks to incorporate and surpass email. The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said he did not see email as a modern messaging system, but he stressed that he didn't envisage people abandoning it straight away.
"We don't expect anyone to wake up tomorrow and say 'OK, I'm going to shut down my Yahoo mail account or my Gmail account and switch exclusively to Facebook.' That's not what we think is happening in the world. What we think is happening is that just like those high school students who have started off today talking about, have subtly shifted towards more and more real-time, simpler communication. That's what we think is going to happen here too."
Scientists say they finally understand how a giant prehistoric winged reptile, the pterosaur, was able to fly. Previous research suggested this heavy reptile, roughly the size of a giraffe, could not have built up enough momentum to become airborne. But a team of paleontologists from a British university said the pterosaurs used their powerful legs and arms to leap into the air, rather like pole vaulters in athletics.
BBC News
1.disrupt vt.使混乱, 扰乱,使中断,打乱
例句:An accident has disrupted railway services into and out of the city.
一场事故使得进出该城市的铁路交通陷入混乱。
2.component n.成分, 组成部分, 部件, 元件
例句:A chemist can separate a medicine into its components.
化学家能把一种药物的各种成分分解出来。
3.renovate vt.翻新; 修复; 整修;重新粉刷
例句:He renovated his house.
他翻修了房子。
The house has been renovated three years earlier.
这所房子三年前就已翻新。
4.front-runner n.赛跑中跑在前头的人,竞争中的领先者
5.fraudulent adj.欺骗的, 欺诈的, 不诚实的
例句:a fraudulent business deal
欺诈的交易
The investigation has laid bare their fraudulent scheme.
这个调查把他们的骗局暴露无遗。
6.disperse vt.vi.(使)分散,散开;疏散;驱散
例句:After school the children dispersed to their homes.
放学后, 孩子们四散回家了。
The police dispersed the crowd.
警察驱散了群众。
7.veteran n.经验丰富的人; 老兵
例句:The baseball veteran loved to coach young players.
这位棒球老手喜欢指导年轻选手。
8.justify vt.证明…有理; 为…辩护
例句:He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.
他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
How can you justify spending so much money?
你怎么能对花掉这么多钱做出令人满意的解释呢?
9.adequately adv.足够地
例句:Vitamin B6 must be adequately supplied.
维生素B6必须充分供应。
Any room where gas is used must be adequately supplied with air.
任何使用煤气的房间都必须有充足的空气。
10.surpass vt.超过; 优于; 多于; 非…所能办到
例句:He surpassed all his rivals.
他比他的所有对手都强。
The beauty of the scenery surpassed my expectation.
该处风景之秀丽超出我的预料。
11.subtly adv.隐隐约约地
例句:Their attitude to me altered subtly.
他们对我的态度已隐隐约约地有所改变。
1.and she said they were also in the best interest of the Afghan people and their government.
in the best interest of符合……的最佳利益
例句:However, at the end of the day, we must move forward in what we think is in the best long term interest of Hong Kong people.
然而,我们的发展,最终都要以香港人的最佳长远利益为依归。
2.How can I calm down?
calm down平静下来,镇定下来
例句:At last the wild wind calmed down.
狂风终于过去了。
Calm down, there's nothing to worry about.
冷静点儿, 没有什么好担心的。
3.There have been violent protests in Haiti against United Nations peacekeepers, who have been blamed for a cholera epidemic that's killed more than 900 people.
blame for因…怪罪, 责怪(某人)
例句:Don't keep blaming your little sister for your bad behavior.
不要总是把你的不良行为怪在你的小妹妹身上。
He blamed his brother for breaking the window.
他责备他兄弟打破了窗玻璃。
4.Mark Zuckerberg, said he did not see email as a modern messaging system, but he stressed that he didn't envisage people abandoning it straight away.
straight away立刻,马上
例句:I'm going to do it straight away.
我将马上做。
1.She insisted those were conducted in full partnership with the government of Afghanistan and pointed out that Afghan forces were included on each operation.
insist用法
insist【用法一】 v. 坚决要求;坚持要;一定要
we insisted on his apology.
我们要他赔礼道歉。
she insisted on seeing us home.
她坚持要送我们回家。
I insisted on their arriving there ahead of time.
我坚持要他们提前赶到那
注:1)insist on 后面不能接由“名词或代词 动词不定式”构成的复合宾语
不能说:the teacher insisted on all the compositions to be handed in on monday.
2)insist 宾语从句(从句中的谓语动词常用虚拟语气,即should 动词原形或省去should)
The young men insisted that they (should) be sent to the front.那些年轻人坚持要求被派往前线去。
【用法二】v. 坚持认为,坚持说,强调
1) insist on 名词
he insisted on his innocence.
他坚持说自己无罪。
2)insist on 宾语从句在表示一个客观事实时(谓语动词不用虚拟语气,而应用陈述语气)
The boy insisted that he hadn’t broken the glass.
那小男孩坚持说他没有打烂玻璃杯。
2.The Department of Agriculture said the number had not risen from 2008, despite a sharp increase in unemployment, and many families would have faced far more severe problems without help from the federal government.
这句话的主语和谓语是:The Department of Agriculture said,后面是宾语从句。宾语从句的主干是:the number had not risen from 2008。后面是despite引导的让步状语从句。