Photos arouse criticism
Edited by Shen Yang



Rubbing salt in the wounds caused by publishing prison photographs of a half-naked Saddam Hussein, a British tabloid released another shot of Iraq's ex-dictator as the US military launched an investigation into how the pictures got out.

The Sun newspaper - Britain's best-selling daily - printed another photograph of Saddam, viewed through a coil of barbed wire, wearing a long white tunic-like shirt and walking, seemingly in conversation with someone or possibly praying.

That followed last Monday's front-page cover of a bare-chested Saddam standing in his underwear with the headline "Tyrant's in his pants", using the British term for underwear briefs.
The Sun also quoted an unidentified "senior British military source" as saying that the top brass at the British defense ministry and the US Pentagon were secretly pleased by the media exposure.

While the Pentagon publicly expressed anger about the pictures, "commanders on the ground will be secretly quite pleased. It is a morale blow to the resistance to see their great leader so humbled," the source said, according to the Sun.

The pictures, which also ran in the New York Post, another tabloid owned by Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch, immediately drew protests from human rights groups and Muslim groups, who complained they violated the Geneva Convention over the treatment of prisoners.

The Sun on Saturday headlined "Bush probes Saddam's pants", in an irreverent play on US President George W. Bush's pledge on Friday "to get to the bottom of the investigation," in the words of a White House spokesman.

Speaking to reporters himself, Bush did not condemn the photographs and said he doubted they would stoke the anger of Iraqi insurgents.

"I don't think a photo inspires murders," Bush said.

Billed as a world exclusive, the Sun said it got the pictures from American military sources.

Last Saturday's edition also included a photo of the 68-year-old former Iraqi leader washing his clothes by hand in a bucket.

Lawyers representing Saddam said last Friday they planned to sue the Sun after it published the first set of photos of the deposed Iraqi dictator, Al-Jazeera television reported, quoting the head of the defense team.

Vocabulary
tabloid 小报
tunic 短上衣
top brass 高级官员
mogul 显要人物
condemn 谴责
insurgent 反叛者

 

 

World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	Smallest church in the world 世界最小的汽车教堂 A smart car, serving as a mobile church, stands parked on a public square in Berlin, May 18. The writing on the car reads "The smallest church in the world". The altogether 70 smart cars are going to tour through 70 cities and towns in Germany, Switzerland and Austria to serve as mobile churches.
	Blue-sky ceiling 地铁下享受蓝天 Commuters walk along an underground concourse decorated with a blue-sky ceiling at Metro's Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, May 17.
	A coin-rolling game 菲律宾孩童表演绝技 A Filipino boy participates in a game requiring him to roll a coin down his face during a town fiesta in Baclaran, located south of Manila, Philippines, May 22. Fiestas around the Philippines are common during the summer season, as it strengthens bonds among Filipino neighborhoods by participating in community celebrations.
	Pulling 1, 050-ton cars 壮汉拉动1050吨重的汽车 Georgian Gograchadze, aged 30, pulls 12 tank-cars full of petrol, or the equivalent of 1,050 tons, in an attempt to establish a new Guinness world record in Tbilisi, May 22. Gograchadze pulled the cars five meters long, and claimed a new record.
	Sky Orchestra 空中上演"热气球音乐剧" Hot air balloons equipped with loudspeakers fly over the Swiss city of Yverdon during a performance on May 19. The so called "Sky Orchestra" event gathered 8 balloons equipped with speakers. Each balloon played a different part of the musical score creating a massive audio landscape.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"This summer I will not allow anybody with tie or jacket into my office."
"今年夏天, 我不允许任何穿夹克打领带的人进入办公室. "
Yuriko Koike, the environment minister, told ministry employees. Japanese men are being asked to help the nation save energy by shedding their jackets and ties in summer.
--日本环境大臣小池百合子对部员下了通告. 日本要求男士夏天不要穿夹克打领带, 以节约能源.

"Our proposal is limited to finding a way to cure disease."
"我们的研究目的只是为了找到治病的方法. "
South Korean researchers reported recently that they have developed a highly efficient recipe for producing human embryos through cloning, and then extracting their stem cells.
--韩国研究人员近日表示他们已经找到一种高效克隆人体胚胎并从中提取干细胞的方法.

"From that moment I had to begin questioning my motivations. You don't want to feel like a gold digger. "
"从那刻起, 我不得不开始质问自己的动机. 我不想让人觉得我是为了淘金. "
Said Dan Croteau, who married a woman much richer than him. Marriage between people of different classes seems to be a complication.
--丹·柯罗蒂娶了一位比自己富有的女士为妻, 但跨阶层的婚姻似乎并不简单.

"The stronger the signal, the higher the risk."
"手机信号越强, 危险性也就越高. "
Swedish scientists said that mobile phones could pose a higher health risk to rural dwellers because they emit more intense signals in the countryside.
--瑞典科学家认为手机对郊区居民的健康危害更大, 因为在郊区, 手机需要发射更强的信号.