Topical News English – Angličtina Youradio Talk

Ania Lichtarowicz: An unhealthy diet together with little exercise and smoking are the key preventable risks of non-communicable diseases and it's estimated that low fruit and vegetable intake alone causes more than two and a half million deaths each year. Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day ensures an adequate supply of micronutrients like vitamins but it can also reduce the amount of fatty and salty food we eat which isn't good for us. Evidence is growing about other benefits of fruit and veg. too - they can help prevent heart disease, some types of cancer, the most common form of diabetes and obesity. The W.H.O. and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, who are behind the scheme, want to increase consumption in developing countries - which grow a lot of the global supply of fruit and vegetables - and also hope to encourage it in the developed world, where the popularity of convenience foods means that many people no longer eat enough fresh produce. VOCABULARYnon-communicable diseases - nepřenositelné, nenakažlivé nemoce micronutrients - mikrovýživa, mikronutrienty veg - vegetable - zelenina convenience foods - upravené potraviny (sušená, zmražená, konzervovaná jídla) produce - (zemědělská) plodina

Fiona Werge z Londýna: The two men are the latest senior government officials to be implicated in a major corruption scandal. If found guilty, they face up to twelve years in prison. They're accused, along with six other government employees, of embezzlement, abusing power and intentional wrongdoing. The case centres on the director of a company, La Thi Kim Oanh, run by the agriculture ministry. She's accused of using bank loans for bribery and personal expenses. The two former ministers are charged with signing documents helping her to obtain the money. She then defaulted on nearly five million dollars worth of loans. The opening of the trial was broadcast live on national TV, the second time this year that a corruption case against senior officials has been televised. The ruling Communist party has made fighting corruption one of its top priorities in an effort to win the confidence of foreign investors. Many say red tape and officials who take bribes are major obstacles to doing business in Vietnam. VOCABULARYcorruption - korupce embezzlement - zpronevěra bribery - podplácení to default - nesplatit, nesplácet půjčky red tape - rozbujelá byrokracie

Zpravodajka BBC Chloe Arnoldová: A tired but happy Nino Burdzhanadze addressed the nation on television, saying Georgia had overcome its gravest crisis in recent history. The task now was to restore the country to its usual rhythm of life, she said. Georgia's President, Eduard Shevardnadze, handed in his resignation on Sunday evening following massive pressure for him to step aside. After talks at his home with opposition leaders and the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, he told the nation he was leaving office to prevent bloodshed. Earlier army units abandoned ranks, saying they were joining forces with the opposition. There was almost no violence during the campaign to oust the President which opposition leaders are calling a velvet revolution. Thousands of Georgians celebrated on the streets of the capital for most of the night. They cheered and waved the red and white cross of St. George, the patron saint and the symbol adopted to represent the new Georgia. VOCABULARY (v kontextu depeše) to step aside - rezignovat na svou pozici, odstoupit to restore it to its usual rhythm of life - vrátit do normálních kolejí to prevent bloodshed - zabránit krveprolití to oust - odstranit, vytlačit, vypudit a velvet revolution - sametová revoluce

Imogen Foulkesová: The W.H.O. says preventing and treating AIDS is the most urgent health challenge the world has ever faced. Eight thousand people die of AIDS every single day, although it is now a treatable disease. Six million people, mainly in the developing world, need antiretroviral drugs but don't have access to them. The Three by Five plan wants to ensure that poor countries get the best quality medicines at the best prices and it aims to improve care, treatment and diagnosis by training thousands of new medical and community workers......... The W.H.O. says the Three by Five plan is a way to challenge the unacceptable inequality surrounding the treatment of AIDS. But six million people need the drugs and deciding which three million will benefit will be very difficult. Individual countries will have the final say, but a meeting to discuss this is due to be held at the WHO in the next few weeks VOCABULARY ‘Three by Five’ - třem milionům nemocných nasadit do roku 2005 antiretrovirální léky WHO - Světová zdravotnická organizace every single day - každičký den, každý jeden den antiretroviral drugs - antiretrovirální léky don't have access - nemají přístup to improve care - zlepšit zdravotní péči unacceptable inequality - nepřijatelná/neakceptovatelná nerovnost will have the final say - budou mít poslední slovo

Barnaby Mason: The dispute over Zimbabwe has dominated the summit. Many countries resent the amount of time it's taken up, but others stressed the vital importance of insisting on Commonwealth standards of democracy. The New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, denied that Zimbabwe's withdrawal was a disaster for the Commonwealth. The disaster would have been to lift the suspension, she said; that would have shown the Commonwealth to be a joke. On the other side of the argument, President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique said the Commonwealth decision had pushed Zimbabwe to leave and could have been avoided. He also complained that the organisation had acted undemocratically itself last March, when the suspension was left in place beyond the original twelve months. But Mr Chissano said he respected the views of others in the Commonwealth and didn't think the episode should bring about enmity between member states. VOCABULARY Commonwealth - Společenství národů Commonwealth to resent the amount of time it's taken up - odmítat, nesouhlasit s tím, kolik času je debata stála to be a joke - být pro smích on the other side of the argument - na opačném pólu the organisation had acted undemocratically - organizace se chovala nedemokraticky to bring about enmity - zasét sémě nepřátelství

Jonathan Marcus: This is a historic turning point for modern Iraq. Saddam Hussein's capture marks a huge morale boost for US forces and a serious blow to Ba'athist elements engaged in armed resistance against them. It provides a significant political boost for President George Bush and for the British Prime Minister Tony Blair who were both coming under ever stronger criticism for launching their invasion of Iraq as the casualty toll mounted. But above all the capture of Saddam Hussein marks a huge opportunity for the Iraqi people. This does not mean that armed resistance to the Americans and their allies will end. This after all derives from a number of factors; political; nationalist, Islamic and criminal. One of Saddam Hussein's last acts in power was to empty the prisons. But the arrest of the former Iraqi ruler creates a dramatic shift in the psychological climate. Ordinary Iraqis have already been celebrating in the streets. VOCABULARY capture - zajetí historic turning point - historický mezník moral boost - morální podpora, pozvednutí morálky political boost - politická podpora the casualty toll mounted - počet obětí na lidských životech stoupal number of factors - řada faktorů dramatic shift - dramatický posun

Roger Hardy: Colonel Gaddafi may have had his own, Libyan, reasons for taking his surprise decision. But he must also have been aware that it would remind his fellow-Arabs of their collective weakness in the face of an assertive American superpower. After all, the Libyan leader had seized power in 1969 as a champion of a radical form of Arab nationalism. He'd seen himself as the political heir of the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, who'd captured Arab hearts with his defiance of the West and his calls for Arab unity. But those heady days are long gone. Now each Arab state is left pursuing its own self-interest. VOCABULARY to have a reason for doing something - mít k něčemu důvod may have had his own Libyan reasons - musel mít nějaké čistě lybijské důvody in the face of - dát do protikladu, oproti to capture hearts - získat si srdce to seize power - chopit se, zmocnit se moci fellow-Arabs - obvykle lidi stejné rasy nebo ze stejné země, kteří uznávají stejné hodnoty - bratři Arabové collective weakness - společně sdílená slabost a call for - volat po něčem long gone - dávno pryč

Steve Rosenberg: In the 1990s it was too busy trying to impeach former president, Boris Yeltsin, to concern itself with passing laws. But not this Duma. After December's parliamentary election it's dominated by deputies loyal to the Kremlin. So it was fitting that one of this new Duma's first visitors was President Putin. In a speech at the parliament's opening session Mr Putin congratulated deputies on their election, referring to those often stormy parliamentary sessions during the days of Boris Yeltsin. Russia's current leader noted that the country had changed since the first Russian Duma appeared ten years ago. In that time, the President said, parliament had moved away from political confrontation to constructive legislative work. VOCABULARY a battering ram - beran, beranidlo - na rozrážení dveří it seems like only yesterday - jakoby to bylo včera to impeach - pohnat před soud, obvinit vysoce postaveného politika z velezrady nebo ho obžalovat ze zneužití státní moci, úplatkářství či pro neschopnost stormy sessions - bouřlivá zasedání cloudy - nejasný, zmatený

Daniel Schweimler: The authorities in Guangdong province in southern China have said that tens of thousands of the masked palm civet and related animals, such as raccoon dogs and Chinese ferret badgers, are likely to be slaughtered and they will close down all wild animal markets in the region. They will also try to stop civets being brought in from neighbouring areas. But much of the trade in civets is already illegal and the WHO has warned the authorities about the dangers of driving the market further underground. They say that could be counterproductive in trying to contain SARS. Civets are regularly sold in live animal markets and are a prized dish in wildlife restaurants. They are also believed to have medicinal properties. Trade in the mammal, which has a body like a cat, long legs, a long tail and a pointed snout, was banned last April amid sweeping efforts to stop the spread of SARS. That prohibition was lifted in August despite warnings by scientists that the animals might still be a health threat. Traders reported, however, that the animal began disappearing from markets soon after scientists linked them with the SARS epidemic. Researchers said it was unlikely that diners could get SARS directly from eating the meat but added that it was more likely to pass to those people who bred or butchered the animals. VOCABULARY civet - cibetka to drive the market further underground - vytlačit trh ještě dál mimo zákon to contain - zastavit, potlačit a prized dish - delikatesa, ceněná pochoutka medicinal properties - léčivé vlastnosti, léčivé účinky amid sweeping efforts - v rámci obrovského úsilí

Clare Arthursová: The web site of Norodom Sihanouk details not only his music, but the films of Cambodia's head of state. His Royal website was set up a year ago, but site managers say its popularity has jumped and they've passed the milestone of one-hundred-thousand hits. The eighty-one-year-old king also receives ten emails a day. The increasing popularity of the web site Norodom Sihanouk dot info -- might reflect the fact that the communicative king is using it to comment on the political crisis in the country, with no new government formed since general elections last July. His messages sometimes worried, sometimes mocking appear on the site as handwritten notes in French, with frequent comments on the political and other problems of his kingdom, including corruption, deforestation and, recently, the subject of his own death and the vexed question of his successor............. The royal site also details royal activities - state visits, aid to the poor and some of Cambodia's modern history. The beloved Sihanouk has seen much of Cambodia's recent trials as a king, a politician and an exile, including independence from the French, the rule of the genocidal Khmer Rouge, democratic elections and, perhaps in the near future, genocide tribunals. VOCABULARY to detail - uvést podrobnosti to jump - skočit nahoru passed the milestone - překročit hranici vexed question - problematická, sporná, zapeklitá otázka successor - nástupce, následník genocide tribunals - soudní procesy s těmi, kdo se podíleli na genocidě