Japan will not give up UNSC bid



Japan will not abandon the bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, a foreign ministry official said on August 22, rejecting a newspaper report on Sunday, which said the Japanese government had decided to give up the bid.

"Japan will not give up the resolution and will continue the effort to get the understanding and support from other countries," a foreign ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

The Sankei Shimbun reported Sunday that the Japanese government had decided to give up efforts to seek the approval of the UN reform resolution submitted by the Group of Four nations - Brazil, India, Germany and Japan.

The four countries are pressing hard to get this document passed in the UN General Assembly in September. Their hopes, however, were dampened after losing the support of the 53-member African Union.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has suggested that the vote on the resolution be postponed until December.

The Japanese government had determined that the resolution would not be adopted by the General Assembly and would review its strategy, the Sankei Shimbun report said, adding that Japan would consult with the three other nations on quitting the bid.

Tokyo would target its fresh effort in 2020 when a conference to review the structure of the Security Council will take place, the paper said.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, May 9, in Moscow, during the celebration marking the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Vocabulary
reject 否决
dampen 衰减
resolution 决议
postpone 推迟
anonymity 匿名
unveil 揭幕
stuntman 特技替身演员

 

 

World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	Stung by bees over 75, 000 times 40多年被蜜蜂蜇过75000多次 Dr. Norman Gary is seen in the picture with bees August 12, in Fair Oaks, CA, USA. Gary has worked with bees for more than 40 years and estimates that he has been stung more than 75,000 times throughout his career.
	Mountain bike Fun Jumping 奇特水上跳车 A contestant dives into the water with his bike during the Mountain Bike Fun Jumping Competition held on the bank of the Moscow River, August 21.
	Boat made of ice cream sticks 1500万支冰棍棒建海盗船 A replica of a Viking ship made of 15 million ice cream sticks was launched by Robert McDonald of the USA in Amsterdam, August 16. The 15 meter long ship took McDonald, a former Hollywood stuntman, two years to build.
	"Non Violence" sculpture unveiled 雕塑"非暴力"在柏林落成 A passer-by walks by the work of art "Non Violence" by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswaerd now located in front of the Chancellery in Berlin, August 21. The sculpture was unveiled by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Nobel Prize laureate Guenter Grass and the artist himself.
	Haircut record 4小时剃287个头 Senior Constable Patrick Stainthorpe (L) has his head shaved by Sergeant Karl David (R) on "Bluey Day" where they broke the Guinness World Record for the most heads shaved in four hours with a total of 287, beating the previous record of 228 heads, August 16, in Melbourne. "Bluey Day" is a national charity event run by Karl David to raise money for children with cancer, saying it's cool to have no hair. The charity has raised the equivalent of over 13 million USD over the past ten years.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"This is only the first step. Before we can land on the moon, we have to go around it."
"这只是第一步. 在我们能够登上月球之前, 得先绕着它旅行. "
Said Eric Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Space Adventures at a news conference. Space Adventures wants to send two tourists on a trip around the moon at a cost of $100 million per ticket.
--太空探险公司总裁埃里克·安德森在一次新闻发布会上说道. 该公司有意组织两名游客环月球旅行, 每张票的价格是一亿美元.

"Our findings point to the possibility that, rather than promoting overall happiness, continued income growth could promote an ongoing consumption race where individuals have to consume more and more, just to maintain a constant level of happiness."
"我们的发现表明不断增加的收入并不能提升人们的幸福感, 反而会激发一场旷日持久的消费竞赛, 每个人都不得不更多地去消费来维持现有的幸福感. "
A study by the American Sociological Association shows that money can buy happiness but only up to a point.
--美国社会学协会一项调查表明金钱虽能买来幸福, 但只是一定程度上的幸福.

"I don't know what I want to do."
"我也不清楚自己到底想要做些什么. "
One year on and more than half of all graduates in Britain who left university last year are still looking for their first graduate job.
--英国各大学去年的毕业生中仍有超过一半的人至今还在苦寻他们毕业后的第一份工作.

"This year's Nobel Prizes will be worth the equivalent of $1.3 million each - a drop of $200,000 from last year because of currency fluctuations."
"今年每项诺贝尔奖的奖金金额为130万美元--由于汇率的波动, 将比去年少20万美元. "
The Nobel Foundation said last week. Although the prize amount is the same in Swedish currency - 10 million kronor - it works out as less dollars and euros because both currencies have risen against kronor.
--诺贝尔奖基金会于上周宣布了此事. 尽管以瑞典本国货币来看, 该奖的奖金额度仍为1000万克朗, 但由于近期美元和欧元对克朗的汇率均有上升, 所以同样数量的克朗所兑换的美元和欧元就相应减少了.