THE NEWS IN SPECIAL ENGLISH, SEPTEMBER 02, 2008
It is twenty-three hours thirty Universal Time and here is the news in Special English.
The severe ocean storm over the American Gulf Coast continues to affect the southern state of Louisiana. The storm reached land about one hundred ten kilometers southwest of the city of New Orleans with winds of one hundred seventy-five kilometers an hour. It has since weakened. Weather experts say it will continue to lose strength as it moves over land toward central Texas. Officials in New Orleans say they believe the city's system of flood barriers will prevent the flooding experienced during a similar storm in two thousand five. That storm killed more than one thousand four hundred people. President Bush says government agencies are working together a lot better than they did three years ago when that similar storm severely damaged the same area of the country. Mr. Bush spoke at an emergency center in the state of Texas. He was there to observe the reaction to the storm. Mr. Bush was sharply criticized three years ago for being at his home when the storm flooded New Orleans. Critics called the administration's response to the storm, “slow and not organized.” But, many government agencies say they learned lessons from that earlier storm and are better prepared this time.
The United States National Hurricane Center in Miami is now following a severe storm in the Atlantic Ocean. Weather experts say it has formed near the Bahamas and is expected to move over the islands during the next two days. Its winds are measured at one hundred thirty kilometers an hour. The experts say the storm could hit land later in the week in the southeastern United States. The experts are also following another storm between the coast of Africa and the Leeward Island. They say it could strengthen in the coming days. It now has winds of eighty-five kilometers an hour.
Officials in India say hundreds of thousands of people in the eastern part of the country still need to be rescued from severe flooding. They say five hundred thousand people have already left. An official in Bihar state said they hope to finish the job of moving people out of the area by Wednesday. Thousands of Indian police and troops are helping the rescue effort. More than three hundred thousand people are crowded into refugee camps in the area. Food and drinking water are in short supply. Aid workers fear that the poor living conditions will lead to disease. The trouble began weeks ago when the Koshi River flooded in nearby Nepal. This caused riverwater to spill into India.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has resigned. Mr. Fukuda says the country and Japan's economy need a new start. He told reporters that new leadership is needed when parliament opens on September twelfth. He said his Liberal Democratic Party will choose a new prime minister. He became prime minister last year when Shinzo Abe resigned because of corruption charges. An opposition party leader said Mr. Fukuda should have called a general election. He said it was irresponsible for him to resign. The opposition Democratic Party in Japan has blocked Mr. Fukuda's plans in parliament.
Government troops in Thailand have helped return peace after supporters of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej clashed with anti-government protestors in Bangkok. Thailand's army chief told reporters that hundreds of soldiers were ordered to help the police. Witnesses said one person died and at least thirty-five people were injured in the violence early Tuesday. The clash began when hundreds of Samak supporters tried to oust anti-government protestors from an area they had occupied for several days. Riot police finally separated the two sides. The protestors want Mr. Samak to resign. They accuse him of being closely linked to former Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra.
You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.
The European Union is suspending talks with Russia until that government withdraws its troops from Georgia. The talks were to have started later this month. E.U. leaders announced the decision at an emergency meeting in Brussels. The European leaders said relations with Russia are at a turning point. The E.U. also condemned Russia's recognition of Georgia's provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It promised aid and planned to send civilians to observe the ceasefire in Georgia.
More than one thousand people have protested the shooting death of Russian news reporter Magomed Yevloyev in the southern republic of Ingushetia. Protestors who gathered for Yevloyev's funeral rejected police claims that his death was an accident. They demanded the resignation of local leader Murat Zyazikov. They also demanded an investigation into the reporter's death. Mr. Yevloyev owned the website Ingushetia.ru, which supported the opposition in Russia. Police detained him when he arrived in Ingushetia. Police say Mr. Yevloyev was shot by accident when he tried to take the officer's gun.
The American Republican party has held the first day of its national convention in the northern state of Minnesota. Nominee John McCain's wife Cindy joined President Bush's wife Laura in speaking to the group. They urged delegates to give to aid efforts for the victims of the severe ocean storm in the Gulf. Gulf Coast governors spoke to the group by video. The day's events were shortened because Mr. McCain said it would be wrong to appear to be celebrating as Americans deal with the storm. Republican officials said they will decide each day which convention activities to hold. President Bush will not attend the convention so he can supervise the federal response to the storm.
And now briefly, here again is the major news of the hour.
The ocean storm over the American Gulf Coast continues to affect the southern state of Louisiana. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has resigned. And, government troops in Thailand have helped return peace in Bangkok after supporters of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej clashed with anti-government protestors.
And, that's the news in VOA Special English coming to you from Washington.
