【920-923】印度成功发射导弹试验卫星&WOW航空倒闭，成千上万人没有航班&亲吻教皇魔戒：一个争论焦点&乌克兰筹备总统选举
AS IT IS
India Successfully Shoots Down Satellite in Missile Test
March 28, 2019
A salesman watches Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing to the nation, on TV screens inside a showroom in Mumbai, India, March 27, 2019.
India has successfully test-fired a missile that destroyed a low-orbit satellite in space.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the test Wednesday in a nationally televised speech. He said the development marked a major step forward in the nation’s efforts to become a world power in space technology.
“Our scientists shot down a live satellite 300 kilometers away in space, in low-earth orbit,” Modi announced, speaking in Hindi. He added that through the test, India had “registered its name as a space power.”
Satellites collect valuable information and carry out important communication activities during modern warfare. Anti-satellite weapons permit enemies to attack the equipment. The same technology can also be used to develop weapons to block incoming missiles.
Modi said the test was not designed to create "an atmosphere of war" with any of its neighbors. "I want to assure the world community that the new capability is not against anyone. This is to secure and defend fast-growing India," he said.
India’s foreign ministry said the anti-satellite system was meant to protect against possible threats against the country’s “growing space-based assets.” In addition, the technology would help guard against possible missile attacks, the statement said.
Very few countries have used such weapons. India became just the fourth nation to do so, following the United States, China and Russia.
Such abilities have made some countries fear that anti-satellite technology could fuel the development of new space weapons, security experts say. This could set off a race between competing nations.
After India’s announcement, China’s foreign ministry said it hoped all countries would seek to continually “protect lasting peace and tranquility in space.”
In the U.S., acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan warned that such tests risk leaving a “mess” in space from the pieces they leave behind. “My message would be: We all live in space, let’s not make it a mess,” Shanahan said. “Space should be a place where we can conduct business. Space is a place where people should have the freedom to operate.”
Anti-satellite weapons that break up their targets can send many pieces flying through space. Experts say these pieces, also called debris, could threaten satellites or spacecraft in Earth’s orbit.
India’s foreign ministry said after its missile test that officials believed there was little risk of major debris created that could hit other objects. It said this was because the test happened in low-Earth orbit and the pieces were expected to “decay and fall back on to the Earth within weeks.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense said the military’s Strategic Command was tracking more than 250 pieces of debris from India’s missile test and would continue to do so.
India has at times experienced tense relations with its neighbor to the north, Pakistan. Both nations are nuclear-armed powers. In February, 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in Kashmir, a disputed area claimed by both India and Pakistan. Later, India reported it had answered the bombing with a “surgicalstrike” on a terrorist camp in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry reacted to India’s anti-satellite test in a statement. “Space is the common heritage of mankind and every nation has the responsibility to avoid actions which can lead to the militarization of this arena,” the statement said.
Modi’s announcement came just two weeks before a general election. Some opposition politicians accused Modi of trying to earn political favor by announcing the test on national television.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and VOA News. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
assure – v. make something sure
asset – n. something of value that is owned
tranquility – n. feeling of calm and quietness
mess – n. state of disorder
decay – v. gradually become weak or destroyed
surgical – adj. resembling the exact, careful work of a surgeon
heritage – n. traditions or practices passed down in a culture or society
arena – n. place or area of interest
AS IT IS
Ukraine Preparing for Presidential Elections
March 28, 2019
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko takes a selfie with students during his visit to the university in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, March 25, 2019. Presidential vote in Ukraine is to take place on March 31. (Mykola Lazarenko/Presidential Press Service Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine is preparing for presidential elections.
The voting will take place on Sunday. If no one wins a majority of the votes, officials will organize a second vote between the top two candidates. That run-off election would be held two weeks later.
The winner will face great difficulties. Ukraine is struggling to deal with corruption and help energize a weak economy. The country is also at war with rebels in the east. The rebels receive support from Russia’s government.
Ukrainian voters will find 39 candidates on the ballot Sunday. However, the election appears to be a three-way race between the current president, Petro Poroshenko, the well-known politician Yulia Tymoshenko, and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Poroshenko, the incumbent, says he has worked for reforms during his five-year term. He says he has moved Ukraine toward the West and has fought corruption. His supporters say now is not the time to change leaders.
But the Poroshenko campaign been hurt by reports of corruption in military spending. These claims have hurt his hope for re-election.
In the past week, someone new to politics is leading in opinion studies of likely voters: 41-year-old Volodymyr Zelenskiy. During a recent visit to his campaign headquarters, young supporters were busy putting information about him on social media.
Zekenskiy campaign spokesperson Dmytro Razumkov says Ukrainians are longing for new leaders.
"The lack of trust in all the political elites has led to a decision by the Ukrainian people to punish them, and the name of this punishment is Zelenskiy," Razumkov said.
Zelenskiy's television program is called ‘Servant of the People.’ On the show, an everyday Ukrainian worker becomes president by chance. So is life about to imitateart?
Zelenskiy’s show is on a television station owned by a billionaire who has been accused of corruption. Some think Zelenskiy is under the businessman’s control.
But Zelenskiy says he would fight Ukraine's corrupt elite. He says he would end the guaranteed protection from legal action of judges and politicians.
The third leading candidate is Yulia Tymoshenko. She became famous as one of the leaders of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004. Since then, she has been put in jail two times on corruption charges. She denies any wrongdoing.
In her campaign, Tymoshenko has promised to lower fuel prices and to increase payments to retired government workers by 200 percent.
“Her voters are the poorest people of Ukraine," says Volodymyr Fesenko. He works at the Center for Political Studies in Kyiv.
Fesenko adds that the war in the east and threats from Russia are the real issues.
"No matter who becomes president, they can't finish this war by themselves. But they also can't meet (Russian President) Putin's conditions, as the people of this country won't accept it,” he said.
Many Ukrainians say they remain undecided over who should be their next leader.
I'm Susan Shand.
VOA’s Henry Ridgwell reported this story. Susan Shand adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in this Story
comedian – n. a person who performs in front of an audience and makes people laugh by telling jokes or funny stories or by acting in a way that is funny
incumbent – n. a person who holds a particular office or position
elites – n. the people who have the most wealth and status in a society
imitate – v. to copy (someone's or something's behavior, sound, appearance, etc.)
AS IT IS
Kissing the Pope's Ring: An Issue of Debate
March 28, 2019
Pope Francis leaves at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
This week, Pope Francis visited a Catholic shrine in Loreto, Italy. He repeatedly withdrew his right hand as a long line of people lowered their heads and tried to kiss his ring. The tradition of kissing the pope’s ring is hundreds of years old and is meant to show respect and obedience, the Washington Post explains.
The images of Francis withdrawing his hand spread quickly on social media. The pope's refusal became an issue of debate among Catholics.
LifeSiteNews, a Catholic website that often criticizes the pope, called the event "disturbing" in the headline of an article. That article included a long history of the rings that popes wear and their importance in Catholic history.
Austen Ivereigh has written a book about the current pope and is a supporter of Francis. He answered the social media storm in a Tweet. "He's [Pope Francis] making sure that they engage with him, not treat him like a sacred relic. He's the Vicar of Christ, not a Roman emperor," Ivereigh wrote. Vicar of Christ is a term that refers to the pope.
On Thursday, Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti addressed the criticisms aimed at Pope Francis. Gisotti stated the Francis pulled his hand away because he was concerned about hygiene. The pope did not want the long line of well-wishers to spread any sickness by kissing his ring, one after the next.
I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
John Russell adapted this story based on reports from the Reuters news agency and the Associated Press. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
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Words in This Story
shrine – n. a place connected with a holy person or event where people go to worship
disturb – v. to worry or upset (someone); disturbing – adj.
sacred – adj. worthy of religious worship
relic – n. an object that is conserved holy
vicar – n. a priest in a certain area
hygiene – n. the things that you do to keep yourself and your surroundings clean in order to maintain good health
AS IT IS
WOW Airlines Collapses, Leaving Thousands Without Flights
March 28, 2019
A picture taken on August 6, 2018 shows a Wow plane on the tarmac of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris. Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)
Iceland’s WOW air suspended operations and cancelled all its flights on Thursday without warning.
The move left thousands of passengers in North America and Europe without transportation.
In a statement on its website, the airline company told passengers there would be no more flights. It advised them to find flights with other airlines.
WOW air was the creation of Icelandic businessman Skuli Mogensen. The airline was founded in late 2011, with its first flight coming six months later.
The company specialized in low-cost travel across the Atlantic Ocean. Its main cities were Reykjavik, London, Paris, New York and Washington, D.C.
In 2013, the airline grew as a result of its low ticket prices and a marketing campaign aimed at making Iceland a popular destination for foreign travelers.
WOW air flew travelers to a total of 16 cities in 2015. By 2018, it offered flights to 36 destinations in Europe, North America and Asia. The company reported a 60 percent increase in passenger numbers.
But then those numbers began to fall, and the company began having difficulties with its finances.
Wow Air announced a pre-tax loss of almost $60 million in the first half of 2018. It was forced to fly fewer airplanes and pay back more debt.
By 2019, the number of planes was cut from 20 to 11 and the company stopped serving several cities, including some in the United States. It also cut jobs.
For the past six months, Mogensen had been seeking investors to keep the airline in the sky.
The first interested buyer was Icelandair. When those negotiations failed, the American company operating the airline Wizz, Indigo Partners, expressed interest, but also passed on investing. Icelandair reconsidered its decision, but by this morning those negotiations collapsed.
“I will never forgive myself for not acting sooner,” Mogensen said in a letter to employees Thursday. “WOW was clearly an incredible airline, and we were on the path to doing amazing things again.”
More than 1,000 people will lose their jobs.
WOW air grounded at least six planes that were set to fly late Wednesday from six airports in North America.
In Europe, flights to Iceland from seven cities did not take off Thursday morning.
Passenger Kimberly Worthy was waiting at the airport in Iceland. She told CNN television she was supposed to fly home to Atlanta.
“I arrived and there were no signs for WOW and when I asked about how to check in, the only response I got was: Check your email. Wow doesn't fly here anymore,” she said.
I’m Alice Bryant.
The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in this Story
destination – n. a place to which a person is going
ticket – n. a document or piece of paper showing that payment was made for a show or ride
incredible – adj. extremely good, great, or large
amazing – adj. causing wonder; surprising
check – v. to compare with something; to inspect or examine
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