2004-12-31
I'm Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.
This week we tell about some of the biggest news stories of two
thousand four. We start in Asia, with what is being described as one
of the worst natural disasters ever.
Last Sunday, huge waves moved across the Indian Ocean and flooded
coastal areas across southern and southeast Asia to East Africa. The
waves were caused by one of the most powerful earthquakes every
recorded, measuring nine on the Richter Scale.
The countries hardest hit were
Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. More than one hundred
thousand people are reported dead. Millions of people have been left
homeless.
Two thousand four was also filled with news about the war in Iraq
and daily reports of violence in the country. Militants increased
their attacks against American soldiers, Iraqi police officers and
civilians working with the United States. American-led forces
battled militants in the cities of Fallujah and Najaf. In May, news
organizations around the world reported about the mistreatment of
Iraqis by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison.
More than one thousand American soldiers have been killed in Iraq
since the war began almost two years ago. And the number of Iraqis
killed is reportedly many times higher.
Terrorism was a top story in other parts of the world. In March,
suspected Islamic militants exploded bombs on crowded passenger
trains in Madrid, Spain. About two hundred people were killed. Days
later, Spanish voters defeated the country's conservative
government, which had supported the American-led war in Iraq.
In September, armed Chechen militants seized more than one
thousand children, parents and teachers in a school in Beslan,
Russia. The seizure ended in gunfire and explosions after days of
negotiations. More than three hundred people were killed, most of
them children.
The African nation of Sudan was in
the news because of a major humanitarian crisis in the Darfur area.
Reports said government-supported Arab militants killed more than
seventy thousand people in a two-year campaign of violence against
black tribal farmers. More than one million people have been
displaced from their homes.
Two thousand four was also a year of historic political
elections. In Afghanistan, voters elected Hamid Karzai in the
country's first presidential election. Voters in the United States
re-elected George W. Bush after a hard fought presidential campaign
against the Democratic party candidate, John Kerry.
And a political crisis eased in Ukraine after the Supreme Court
cancelled the election victory of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
The court decided there had been widespread cheating and ordered a
new presidential election. Opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko
won that election on Sunday and has promised democratic changes in
Ukraine.
In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk.
This is Steve Ember.