CNN听力合辑Sep.18布什提名新司法部长/苏丹种族灭绝危机
Today's Headlines - Catch up on some of the stories making headlines in the news.
Fact Check: Sudan - Learn about the humanitarian crisis taking place in Darfur.
The Crisis in Darfur - Find out what role China is playing in the Darfur conflict.
Transcript
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us for CNN Student News. I'm Monica Lloyd. Here are some of the stories making headlines this Tuesday, September 18th.
Today's Headlines
LLOYD: President Bush names his nominee. Former federal judge Michael Mukasey is the pick to replace Alberto Gonzales as the new U.S. attorney general. Gonzales, who had been at the center of a controversy over fired U.S. attorneys, announced his resignation last month. Mukasey has served as chief judge of one of the nation's busiest and most high-profile courthouses. And during a ceremony yesterday at the White House, President Bush noted Mukasey's track record on national security issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Judge Mukasey has a clear eye on the threat our nation faces. As a judge and a private lawyer, he's written on matters of constitutional law and national security.
MICHAEL MUKASEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: The department faces challenges vastly different from those it faced when I was an assistant U.S. attorney 35 years ago. But the principles that guide the department remain the same: to pursue justice by enforcing the law with unswerving fidelity to the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O.J. Simpson is under arrest. The former football player is accused of taking sports memorabilia from two men in a Las Vegas hotel room. Simpson says he went there to get some of his personal items that were being sold. This pales in comparison to his previous legal battle. In the 1990s, Simpson was tried for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend in a case that riveted most of the country. Simpson was acquitted of the charges, but later found responsible for the deaths in a civil case.
And Microsoft loses a legal battle. A European court rejected the computing giant's appeal of a 2004 ruling, upholding a fine of more than $600 million against the company. The decision said that the European Union's antitrust commission ruled correctly when it determined that the software maker was unfairly blocking competitors and, ultimately, having a negative effect on consumers. Microsoft officials said they plan to study the ruling and comply with it.
Fact Check: Sudan
LLOYD: Now we turn our focus to the African nation of Sudan, specifically its Darfur region, where a conflict has been raging for more than four years now. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the violence there and millions more have been forced from their homes. The United Nations calls it the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. John Lisk has more on the history of the conflict in this fact check.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN LISK, CNN REPORTER: Look at a map of Sudan and you can't miss the obvious: It's huge, one-quarter the size of the United States. Sudan is also extraordinarily diverse. The land boasts the Nile River, mountains, deserts, swamps and rain forests. In Arabic, Sudan means "Land of the Blacks." Islam is the official religion, Arabic the official language. But today, that tells only part of the story. Blacks, or Africans, make up about 52 percent of the population, Arab Muslims about 39 percent. Most blacks are in the south, most Arab Muslims in the north. A 20-year civil war between the two groups ended two years ago at a cost of more than a million lives. Uncertainty over just who'll reap the benefits of the country's promising oil reserves and gold also contributes to present unrest and violence.
The conflict in the western Darfur region just adds more salt to a festering wound. Fighting broke out four years ago when ethnic African tribes rebelled against the Arab-dominated government of President Omar al-Bashir. The government is accused of unleashing a campaign of murder, rape and plunder, a charge it denies. The United Nations says some 200,000 have been killed and more than two million have fled their homes. There is fear the Darfur conflict could explode into regional war if it doesn't soon end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
The Crisis in Darfur
LLOYD: A little more than a year ago, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution to put U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur. And last November, the Sudanese government agreed to the plan. One of the countries taking part in the peacekeeping mission is China. But as John Vause explains, some people believe that's not the only way China is involved in the conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN REPORTER: This is the image China wants to the world to see: hundreds of blue beret-wearing soldiers about to head to western Sudan as peacekeepers. Mostly engineers, they'll build roads, bridges and dig wells and, China hopes, will refute allegations that it continually supports a Sudanese government which has been accused of genocide in Darfur. The Chinese insist they're not to blame for a conflict which has claimed more than 200,000 lives. DAI SHAOAN, CHINA DEFENSE MINISTER (TRANSLATED): Suppose my brothers and sisters have some conflicts and quarrel. It would not be right to blame you for the problems of my house, says the officer in charge of the peacekeepers. VAUSE: But human rights group and some U.S. lawmakers allege China is supplying the weapons to the Sudanese government and its militia allies to kill civilians in Darfur.
ANDREW ROMANOFF, COLORADO STATE HOUSE MEMBER: The government in Khartoum is using weapons made in China, sold by China, financed by China to kill its own people, and that shouldn't be happening.
VAUSE: An allegation China's Africa envoy did not deny.
LIU GUIJIN, CHINA'S AFRICA ENVOY (TRANSLATED): If I am selling a knife, I cannot ensure that my client will not use the knife for murder, even though this is not my intention, he says.
VAUSE: China is Sudan's biggest trading partner, buying almost all of its oil, and has often provided diplomatic cover in the U.N. But not so much in recent months.
China's traditional foreign policy has been to not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations. But now, that may be slowly changing, especially after protestors threatened to upset next year's Olympics with labels like the Genocide Games and calls for a boycott. The real test for China, say analysts, will be what it does once the Olympics have left town. John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
24 Hours for Darfur
LLOYD: It's not just countries aiming to end the conflict in Darfur. Individuals have the same goal, and 24 Hours for Darfur wants to help them achieve it. The organization collects people's personal videos calling for action on the conflict and played them for 24 consecutive hours at rallies this past weekend. Ralitsa Vassileva talked to Benjamin Plener about the group's efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN PLENER, 24 HOURS FOR DARFUR: We're focusing on a just peace for Darfur. After four years of violence, we believe we are very close, and we can seize the opportunity before us to finally bring a peaceful resolution to the first genocide of the 21st century.
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN ANCHOR: You say that you're very close. What does this mean?
PLENER: I think that all of the elements are there, and all that's missing is pressure. We have the UN-AU hybrid force set to deploy. And we know that Sudan has responded to pressure in the past. The question here is whether the international community is going to bring pressure to bear on Khartoum to sit down at the negotiating table and secure a just peace for Darfur.
VASSILEVA: There have been promises made before, and things have not worked out the way they were expected to. And the strife has continued.
PLENER: Absolutely. Khartoum has made promises repeatedly and failed to deliver. And Khartoum is very sophisticated at exploiting political apathy or inaction. They only respond to strong diplomacy. When the world wanted Osama bin Laden out of Sudan, pressure was brought to bear and Khartoum responded. When the international community wanted to broker a peace deal between the north and the south, pressure was brought to bear and Khartoum responded. And the exact same thing can happen here if the international community speaks with one voice, clear and sustained, demanding that Khartoum come to the table and secure a just peace for Darfur.
VASSILEVA: What is the likelihood that it will speak with one voice? There have been differences.
PLENER: I think that we're close. I think that we're seeing an emerging consensus among the critical players: the United States, China, the UK, France, the U.N. and A.U. People know that this is not, that in addition to the important efforts to protect civilians, the only way to ensure that the people of Darfur are going to be safe in the long term is to secure a just peace. And China's feeling the pressure as we ramp up to the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. I think that Bush is looking. I think that he cares about the issues in Sudan. I think that he's looking for an opportunity to establish his legacy on this issue. And I think that the differences are minor compared to the strong sense of commitment that international leaders are sensing right now and are hearing from people around the world, that now is the time for action and the objective is clear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Promo
LLOYD: You can learn more about 24 Hours for Darfur and the effort to end the conflict at their Web site. Check out the videos collected by the group or create one of your own. We've added a link to their page and a Learning Activity on the conflict in Darfur to our home page, CNNStudentNews.com.
Before We Go
LLOYD: Before we go, check out this miniature matador. Man, or rather boy, against beast. Some might not think it's a fair fight. But don't tell that to Rafael. He's the 11-year-old who just bounced back up after being rammed by a bull. The pre-teen isn't even tall enough to see over that fence without jumping. But he didn't step in the ring on a dare. He's been training to become a bullfighter since he was five.
Goodbye
LLOYD: And that's where we exit the stadium for today. But we'll see you tomorrow for more commercial-free CNN Student News. Thanks for watching. I'm Monica Lloyd.
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