【924-927】英第三次否决退欧计划&新西兰计划到2050年消灭害虫&瑞典驻朝办为美国外交可能做准备&移民面相显示力量和勇气
AS IT IS
British Parliament Rejects May’s EU Withdrawal Plan a Third Time
March 29, 2019
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks in the Parliament in London, Britain, March 29, 2019.
British lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for leaving the European Union for a third time on Friday.
The rejection leaves big questions about Britain’s next move on the day the country was supposed to cancel its EU membership.
The decision to reject a simpler version of May’s deal has left it unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the political and economic union.
After a special meeting of parliament, lawmakers voted 344 to 286 against May’s EU withdrawal agreement.
Within minutes of the vote, European Council President Donald Tusk said EU leaders would meet on April 10 to discuss Britain’s withdrawal.
The European Commission said that it is likely the two sides will be unable to negotiate a deal over the next two weeks.
May had told parliament the vote was the last chance to ensure Britain’s exit, or Brexit, would take place. She warned that if the deal failed, then any additional delay to Brexit would probably be a long one.
“I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House,” May told parliament after the defeat. “The implications of the House’s decision are grave.”
“The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12th April,” she said.
Third Failure
It was a third failure for May, who offered on Wednesday to resign as prime minister if the deal passed. She made the offer to win over members of her Conservative Party who support a more decisive break with the EU than her deal offers.
With no majority in parliament for any Brexit plan so far, it is unclear what May will now do. Possible choices include asking the EU for a long delay, calling new elections, or what is being called a “no-deal” exit.
May’s spokesman said she would press on with talks with opponents of the deal.
Britain now has under two weeks to persuade the EU’s 27 other members that it has a way to end the dispute. If that fails, Britain will leave the union on April 12 with no deal on future ties with its largest trading ally.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking as parliament voted, said the EU needed to speed up planning on a no-deal exit.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that unless Britain came up with a plan, there would be a “hard” Brexit.
One of the two paths to an orderly Brexit seems now to be closed, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte “This leaves only the other route, which is for the British to make clear what they want before April 12.”
“The risk of a no-deal Brexit is very real,” he added.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
George Grow wrote this story from reports by Reuters and VOA. Mario Ritter Jr. edited it.
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Words in This Story
implication – n. a suggestion; close connection
grave – adj. serious
route – n. an established path; a line of travel
default – n. failure to do something required
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AS IT IS
New Zealand Plans to Be Rid of Pests by 2050
March 29, 2019
In this March 22, 2017 photo, a tourist films a takahe at Zealandia in Wellington, New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
New Zealand is three years into what many consider to be the world's largest animal protection program. The Predator Free 2050 government program has a goal of removing all non-native pests by the year 2050 to protect the country's native wildlife.
One area on New Zealand's South Island has not heard the sounds of native birds in years. This is because of predator pests, including possums, rats and stoats.
Dave Butler is the head of the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary near the city of Nelson. He directed a program that dropped poison from a helicopter, which killed pests in the sanctuary area. This permitted native animals to increase in number once again.
"We saw the first season after the pest removal big increases in some of the common birds here, the tuis and the fantails and so on.”
The sanctuary was completed in September 2016. It takes seven hours to walk around the pest-free area. Butler says there are plans to expand the project.
"We have got the opportunity of working back into the city from here. It is a 10 minutes' drive away and bringing these amazing birds back into peoples' gardens. And then this way we have sort of got 100,000 hectares of native forest to start restoring and bringing that back, and that all ties into the very exciting, challenging vision the country has of predator-free 2050…”
Butler added that settlers who arrived in New Zealand introduced animals such rats, possums and stoats that put native wildlife at risk.
Sky Davies is the manager of Tasman Environmental Trust. She said she does love the idea of killing animals. But she sees it as a necessary step toward saving New Zealand’s native species.
"So if we want to save species that are only found in New Zealand, nowhere else in the world, the unfortunate fact is that we need to kill these predators that are causing their demise."
But some people consider the Predator Free 2050 project to be problematic.
Jamie Steer is a senior biodiversity advisor at the Greater Wellington Regional Council. He said he does not expect the program to work.
"One of my biggest issues with Predator Free 2050 is that it sets up public expectations that it just cannot possibly live up to. It creates the impression that the removal of just five introduced mammals will be a game-changer for conservation in New Zealand, when it would actually be nothing of the sort.”
Still, hundreds of community conservation projects and science and environmental agencies have joined the government’s war on pests.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
Phil Mercer reported this story for VOA News. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
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Words in This Story
demise – n. the end of something that is thought of as being like a death
game-changer – n. a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way
impression - n. an idea or belief that is usually not clear or certain
predator – n. an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals; an animal that preys on other animals
pest – n. an animal or insect that causes problems for people especially by damaging crops
species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants; a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus
AS IT IS
Sweden Keeps Office in North Korea Ready for Possible US Diplomats
March 29, 2019
This March 22, 2019, photo shows the building that houses the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea. (The Swedish Embassy via AP)
Donald Trump became the first serving American president to meet with a North Korean leader in June 2018.
Trump’s talks with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore led to an agreement in which the two nations promised to keep working on several issues aimed at improving relations.
Trump and Kim held another face-to-face meeting last month in Vietnam. That meeting produced no major agreements. At both meetings, the leaders reportedly considered a proposal to open a liaison office in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.
Such offices are one step below an embassy. They are often set up between nations that do not have official diplomatic relations. They offer a way for two nations that have tense relations to continue some kind of working contact. The U.S. has operated “interest sections” in places like Cuba and Iran.
South Korea set up a liaison office in the North Korean city of Kaesong last year after several months of increased discussions and contacts with the North.
If the U.S. and North Korea decide to open a liaison office, Sweden says it will make a room available for that purpose. The room sits next to the Swedish ambassador’s office in Pyongyang’s diplomatic area.
The room has remained mostly unused for more than 20 years. But it was once used as an office to handle U.S.-North Korean matters. The office was set up after an agreement signed in 1995 that gave Sweden permission to serve as America’s “protective power” in North Korea.
At the time, there were a lot of talks going on between U.S. and North Korean officials. The office was meant to serve as a base for necessary contacts because the U.S. had no diplomatic relations with the North.
Entering the room today, reports say there is evidence of the changing relationship of the two sides over the years. Two versions of the Pyongyang Times newspaper are on display. One reports on warming relations under North Korea’s late leader Kim Jong Il and U.S. President Bill Clinton during the 1990s. A more recent issue of the newspaper shows a photo of Trump and Kim Jong Un on its front page.
Trump and Kim were asked by reporters about the possibility of opening a liaison office during their meeting last month in Hanoi, Vietnam. “It’s actually not a bad idea,” Trump said. Kim answered through an interpreter, saying “I think that is something that could be welcomed.”
Sweden permitted a reporter from the Associated Press to see the room set aside for possible U.S. use. The reporter, however, was not permitted to take pictures for security reasons. One diplomat told the AP the office could be used as an interest section for the U.S. This would be one step below a liaison office.
The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, along with the British Embassy, sits on the property of the German Embassy. Diplomats said, if the U.S. does decide to set up a liaison office, Sweden would no longer be responsible for U.S. interests in North Korea under the current agreement.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. 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
liaison – n. relationship that allows different organizations or groups to work together and provide information to each other
section – n. a part something is divided into
display – n. something shown for people to look at
interpreter – n. someone whose job is to change what someone else in saying into another language
property – n. a building or piece of land
AS IT IS
Faces of Immigrants Show Strength, Bravery
March 29, 2019
Visitors examine Artist Betsy Ashton's exhibition, "Portraits of Immigrants"
Faces of immigrants in paintings by artist Betsy Ashton look the viewer directly in the eye. The subjects of these life-sized paintings seem ready to tell their stories of leaving home to face the problems of living in a strange land.
Ashton says she created the oil paintings to answer what she calls a false political narrative about immigrants in the United States.
Her artworks can be seen at an exhibit, called “Portraits of Immigrants,” at The Riverside Church in New York City. The show ends April 21.
About 16 kilometers south from the church is Ellis Island, where 12 million newcomers landed from 1892 to 1954. On a nearby island stands the Statue of Liberty. A sign on the statue reads, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
The subjects of the portraits are from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. They include teachers, business people, a health care worker, housekeeper, actor, politician and coffee shop employee. Some are U.S. citizens. Others have proper documents, although one does not.
Fitting into a new culture
Ashton is a former news reporter. She wrote a short description of each immigrant and then put up the information next to each portrait. The stories tell of struggling to get used to a new culture and learning a new language for the promise of a better life.
One picture shows Ron Kim in his New York State Assembly office. He represents part of Queens, one of New York's five districts. Kim came to New York from South Korea when he was 6. He says it is showing the group of immigrants as a whole that makes the portraits more powerful.
Another immigrant honored in oil paint is Abdul Saboor, who taught U.S. troops the culture of his native Afghanistan before coming to the United States nearly five years ago.
Saboor is now a U.S. citizen and works for the upstate New York nonprofit group that helped resettle him. He sees Ashton’s art show as one way for Americans “to imagine themselves in my skin.”
Both Kim and Saboor said they are very mindful of the political debate over immigration since Donald Trump became president.
As a candidate in 2016, Trump talked about bad people coming from Mexico and said he wanted to build a wall on the U.S. southern border.
As president, Trump has continued to talk about illegal immigrants and has limited their pathways for legal immigration and travel. The Reuters news service says the Trump administration did not answer its request for comment on this story.
Inspiration
Ashton told Reuters that a story she heard at a religious service made her decide to start making her paintings. She started with “Eddie” Rigo, who operates a coffee shop she visits each morning. He fled crime-ridden Sao Paulo, Brazil, where his Italian family had been in the pizza business.
Then came Beata Szakowicz Kombel, a health care worker Ashton knows from doctor visits. She left Poland’s struggling economy in the early 1990s.
The art collection grew to 16 people. Ashton wants to find two more immigrants from troubled countries to complete the set.
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The subjects include a woman called “Angel,” who came to the United States on a tourist visa 20 years ago. She does not have legal documents to stay in the country. Another painting shows Maria Solome, a Guatemalan housekeeper who came across the Rio Grande River, but recently got legal documents to stay. Another painting shows John Lam, who was poor when he arrived from Hong Kong. He now heads the Lam Group real estate investment company.
Ashton said the immigrants have many different ancestries, races and religions, but they all are fighting to solve the problems that made them leave their homes.
I’m Jill Robbins.
Demetrius Freeman and Peter Szekely reported on this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in This Story
viewer – n. someone who watches or observes something
narrative – n. a story told in detail
yearning – adj. an urgent longing or desire to do something
proper – adj. correct; respectable; very good or excellent
district – n. part of a territory or area
tourist – n. someone who makes a trip for pleasure
Are you an immigrant? How do you feel about the collection of paintings that show immigrants? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.