Topical News English – Angličtina Youradio Talk

Kulturní zpravodaj Lawrence Pollard z Paříže: This three-day conference was originally planned for Kabul but has been moved to Paris because of the unstable situation in the Afghan Capital. And that gives a good idea of how huge the task facing UNESCO really is. The basic aspiration is that culture should serve as a rallying point for nation building - in practice neither the finances nor the security conditions seem very favourable. But Unesco can and will be drawing up a strategy for what needs to be done, based on repair, protection and finance. It wants better coordination of projects and more of the promised finances to materialise. The distance still to travel is enormous, though. The Kabul museum has no roof, may have to be relocated, and the 30 % of its collection which hasn't been recently destroyed has to remain in secret storage for its own safety. Another headline issue is Bamiyan, the site of the world famous rock statues of the Buddha, blown up by the Taleban in 2001. VOCABULARYin practice - ve skutečnosti, v praxi to draw up - načrtnout, navrhnout, formulovat the promised finances to materialise - aby se slíbená finanční pomoc realizovala the distance still to travel is enormous - zbývá stale urazit pořádný kus cesty headline issue - titulkové téma

Harry Peart z Londýna: It stunned the chairmen of the four Grand Slam championships with a demand for additional payments totalling 50 million dollars. The largest portion would go into the players' pockets, but the package included payments into a players' pension account, better promotional activities, a bonus for players who compete in all four Grand Slams and a donation to selected charities. The ATP wants at least 30 percent of the profits in prize money. The Grand Slam chairmen have rejected the demand and re-affirmed its rights to determine the levels of compensation. Most of the profits are used to promote tennis at the grass roots. The Grand Slam Committee can also point to the fact that the French Open paid almost 8 percent more in prize money this year for the men's singles event while the Wimbledon increase is almost 10 percent at a time when television revenues are falling. VOCABULARYto stun - šokovat, ohromit Grand Slam - Wimbledon, Paříž, Austrálie a US Open goes into the players' pockets - jde do kapes hráčů payments into a players' pension account - platby do penzijních fondů hráčů package - "balík či balíček" to reaffirm - znovu potvrdit, znovu připomenout at the grass roots - řadoví občané, narozdíl od funkcionářů television revenues - zisk z televizních přenosů

Harry Peart z Prahy: The Iraq Olympic Committee was dissolved following an IOC investigation into accusations against Saddam Hussein's son Uday. He was alleged to have tortured and jailed athletes at his headquarters in Baghdad when he was president of the National Olympic Committee. The IOC said no one involved in the abuses should be part of the new structure. Earlier this month the IOC sent a delegation to Iraq to assess the situation. Further discussions have identified the need for the athletes to be helped by funding from the Olympic movement. Top-level athletes will be selected for training and advised which international competitions they should attend. The longer-term incentive is to enable some of the athletes to take part in next year's Olympic Games in Athens. VOCABULARYIOC - International Olympic Committee - MOV - Mezinárodní olympijský výbor to dissolve - rozpustit to torture and jail athletes - mučit a věznit sportovce he was alleged - údajně (předkládat fakt, ale nepotvrdit ho) to be involved - podílet se na funding - finance to assess the situation - posoudit, vyhodnotit situaci incentive - podnět, stimul

Caroline Wyattové z Korsiky: For decades, successive French governments have sought solutions to the Corsica problem; none has yet worked. This time, the government of Jacques Chirac had hoped the offer of a limited form of devolution would finally bring peace to the island, which has been wracked by violence for nearly thirty years. Corsica's narrow rejection of the new regional assembly is a bitter disappointment, especially for the French interior minister Nicholas Sarkozy, who'd campaigned hard for change. Responding to last night's result, he said the French government would respect the wishes of the Corsican people, but he called it a 'wasted opportunity'. The 'no' vote will also sadden those on the island who'd seen this limited measure of autonomy as the best chance to end the separatist campaign, while keeping Corsica French. But despite the government's enthusiasm for reform, a slight majority on the island preferred to keep the status quo. VOCABULARYlimited form of devolution - omezená devoluce to wrack - mařit violence - násilí narrow rejection - těsné odmítnutí bitter disappointment - hořké zklamání wasted opportunity - zmařené příležitosti separatists - separatisté

Richard Black z Paříže: Dr Cardoso urged the global community to learn from Brazil's example. Through education, basic health care and providing anti-retroviral drugs to all infected people, he said, Brazil has halved the death rate from AIDS. He was scathing about the US approach of emphasizing sexual abstinence and fidelity rather than condom use. Such policies, he said, promote a sense of security among people in long-term relationships who don't then use condoms. Through their partners' infidelities, many go on to contract HIV. Also speaking at the opening was Marie-Jose Mbuzenakamwe, an activist from Burundi, who lambasted the world's richer nations for not putting money into the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria. VOCABULARYto urge - apelovat, naléhat, vyzývat anti-retroviral drugs - anti-retrovirální léky to halve - snižit na polovinu, rozpůlit health care - zdravotní péče he was scathing - ostře až zžíravě napadl sense of security - pocit bezpečí long-term relationship - dlouhodobý patrnerský vztah to contract - nakazit se to lambaste - příkře odsoudit

Barnaby Philips z Johannesburgu: The Nelson Mandela Bridge is a striking structure. But its real significance is that its construction marks yet another attempt to revive Johannesburg's city centre. From a distance, downtown Johannesburg looks impressive, a collection of skyscrapers and neon lights. The reality is much more depressing. Over the past fifteen years, big business has fled to the northern suburbs. Many of the skyscrapers are abandoned, leaving squatters, crime and urban decay. Now, the city authorities argue that they have brought crime under control and a huge investment has been made in the Newtown area, intended as a vibrant cultural centre and home to the famous Market Theatre. VOCABULARYstructure - (velká) stavba, konstrukce to revive - oživit construction marks, to mark - stavba představuje, symbolizuje skyscraper - mrakodrap urban decay - úpadek, rozpad, rozklad města to bring crime under control - dostat kriminalitu pod kontrolu a vibrant cultural centre - pulsující kulturní centrum

Nick Hawton z Bosny: No one is sure how many people are buried but it could be as many as seven-hundred, making it more than twice as large as any mass grave so far found in Bosnia. They are thought to be victims of the Srebrenica massacre, when seven-thousand Muslims were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995. The bodies were dumped in numerous graves across the region, and every year more of these sites are discovered. Weeks of painstaking work lie ahead before forensic experts establish just how many people are buried and then begin the difficult task of identifying them. But this is just the tip of an iceberg. VOCABULARYmass grave - masový hrob twice as large - dvakrát větší victim - oběť the bodies were dumped - těla byla naházena numerous - početný, četný across the region - po celé oblasti forensic experts - soudní znalci painstaking work - vyčerpávající, úmorná, na pečlivost náročná práce weeks of work lie ahead - čekají je ('leží před nimi') týdny práce tip of an iceberg - špička ledovce

Elizabeth Bluntová z Freetownu: General Agwai was in Freetown to meet the battalion going to Liberia and to give them a pep talk on the eve of their deployment. These men have already completed a full tour of duty with the United Nations force in Sierra Leone and had been due to return home. Now they are being sent as the vanguard of an international force to bring peace to Liberia. General Agwai reminded them that they were going as peacekeepers and although they had a mandate to defend themselves if attacked, they were not going to Liberia to fight against any of the factions. He will do everything in his power to make sure they could carry out their task with the least possible danger to themselves, he said. He didn't want to have to bring home a single Nigerian coffin. VOCABULARYa pep talk - proslov, který má vzpružit, podpořit; povzbuzující řeč on the eve of - v předvečer deployment - rozmístění vojenských sil a full tour of duty - odsloužený turnus vanguard - předvoj a mandate to defend - mandát k obraně faction - frakce

Barbara Millerová: The bride wore a traditional white dress and arrived in a sleek car, but that's where normality ended as twenty-seven year-old Yekaterina Dmitriyeva married her sweetheart Yuri Malenchenko. Since the groom was unable to be there in person, guests were greeted by a cardboard cut-out of the forty-one year-old cosmonaut. He's due back from an extended mission on the International Space Station in October, but the couple decided they couldn't wait that long to tie the knot. But the wedding wasn't without controversy. Both NASA and the Russian Aerospace Agency tried to get the couple to wait until Yuri returned to Earth. VOCABULARYto be somebody's sweetheart - (výraz ze staré školy) "něčí drahý/drahá" to tie the knot - "spojit do manželského svazku" - vzít se tie a knot - zavázat na uzel, udělat na něčem uzel bride - nevěsta groom - ženich cosmonaut - ruský kosmonaut astronaut - americký astronaut an extended mission - prodloužená mise

Valerie Jonesová z Iráku: The breach in the water pipeline was a matter of frustration - a large area of Baghdad without water for twety hours. But the fires burning in the oil pipeline to Turkey are a more crucial setback for hopes of rebuilding the country. Local oil officials are blaming sabotage and with the pipeline once again shut down, Iraq is losing 7 million dollars a day in oil revenue. Now thousands more guards are being recruited to join more than five thousand Iraqis already watching the pipeline. But it stretches for around a thousand kilometres and protecting the whole length won't be an easy task. VOCABULARYoil pipeline - ropovod water pipeline - vodovod sabotage (fr. sabots) - sabotáž setback - zbrždění, zhoršení situace rebuilding the country - obnova země oil revenue - příjem z ropy to recruit - rekrutovat, zaměstnat thousands more guards - tisíce nových strážných it stretches for a thousand kilometres - táhne se na tisíc kilometrů