Merkel on diplomatic tour



Germany's new Chancellor Angela Merkel has signaled at NATO headquarter in Brussels that the time has come for improving relations with the United States, which were bruised by Germany's opposition to the US-led war in Iraq .

"I believe the ties between the United States and Germany can be developed further," she said after talks with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer during her whirlwind trips to Paris and Brussels.

However, she also said she would not allow Germans to train Iraqi troops inside Iraq, sticking with Schroeder's policy. She said Germany would still provide such training in other countries in the Middle East.

Although NATO's members split over the Iraq war, Merkel said the alliance's 26 members must once again find a political consensus.

During her stop in Paris, Merkel stressed continuity in Berlin-Paris ties.

Merkel said her choice of Paris as the first stop on her tour of European capitals "reflects the deep conviction that a good German-French relationship, a friendly, a deep relationship, is not only important for our two countries but also necessary and desirable for Europe."

After talks with Merkel in the Elysee Palace, French President Jacques Chirac said the two countries shared a common view and both wanted "a political and social Europe" based on solidarity and common policies, and that a "truly strong Franco-German axis" was necessary for the 25-member European Union.

Merkel expressed her hope for keeping up the "rhythm" of Franco-German meetings and invited Chirac to visit Berlin in early December.

When meeting with senior European Union officials, Merkel pledged her support for the proposed EU constitution, but she avoided taking a public stand on some of the EU's most prickly issues, including how the bloc should allocate its budget and whether Turkey should become a full member.

According to a German government spokesman, Merkel had a telephone conversation on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and both leaders expressed the wish to "deepen their contact with a meeting in person."

Putin extended his congratulations on Merkel's appointment as Chancellor this week. They agreed that "excellent German-Russian relations" should be further developed.

Merkel, critical of her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder over his close relationship with Putin, has been widely expected to seek closer ties with Washington and to readjust the relationship with Russia.

Angela Merkel is sworn in by Parliament speaker Norbert Lammert to become Germany's new Chancellor during a session of parliament in Berlin, November 22.

 

 

World in Pictures
Photo source: ImagineChina

	New altitude record 印富翁乘热气球飞越2.1万米高空 Indian business tycoon Vijaypat Singhania set a new altitude record in this hot-air balloon at Mumbai, November 26. Singhania, in a venture dubbed "Mission Impossible" (MI 70K) floated to an altitude of 69,852 feet.
	Live auto ad 街头汽车广告标新立异 Thai people walk past a pick up truck stood on its end, which is being used for automobile advertising in the business district of Bangkok, Thailand, November 24. Thailand will become the world's seventh largest automobile exporter later this month when the country's annual automobile production reaches one million units for the first time. Thailand's achievement of the annual automobile production target will pave the way for the kingdom to become "the Detroit of Asia" by 2010 when the country's annual automobile production will reach 1.8-2.0 million units.
	Tallest X'mas tree 82米高圣诞树创吉尼斯纪录 The biggest Christmas tree in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records, surrounded by a dancing fountain, on its inauguration day November 26 at the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The tree, measuring 82 m and lit up with 2.8 million colored fairy lights, has been given a new fountain setting and its illumination opens the Christmas celebrations in the city.
	Traditional painted carts recognized as HNP 哥斯达黎加手绘彩车被确认人类文化遗产 Carlos Caverris, 78, decorates a traditional cart at his Traditional Cart Factory in Sarchi, about 50 km north of San Jose, Costa Rica, November 25. The Caverris family has owned this factory and shop since 1903. This kind of painted cart is a symbol of the folk culture of Costa Rica. UNESCO has recognized these carts as Humankind Nonmaterial Patrimony.
	Hat and a half 身着奇装异服行乞 A South African man wearing an exotic headdress of eggs, baskets, feathers and masks, begs for money from tourists visiting the busy Greenmarket square open air market in central Cape Town, South Africa, November 23. Cape Town is a popular tourist destination during the southern hemisphere summer from November to April, with long warm sunny days.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"People come in here and cry on my shoulder. They feel ashamed, even traumatized, to have these invisible vampires living in their home."
"人们来我的公司, 趴在我的肩头哭诉. 家里头那些看不见的吸血鬼让他们感到羞耻, 甚至觉得精神上受到了创伤. "
Andy Linares, the owner of Bug Off Pest Control. Bedbugs are back and spreading through New York City.
--美一害虫防治公司的负责人安迪·利纳雷斯如是说. 就像侵袭麦田的蝗虫群, 臭虫卷土重来并且袭击了整个纽约市.

"The odds for a happy marriage may favor those who tie the knot between the ages of 23 and 27. "
"幸福的婚姻似乎更偏爱那些在23到27岁间喜结良缘的人. "
A survey designed and analyzed by University of Texas sociology professor Norval Glenn found that early weddings may make for happy marriages.
--调查发现早婚的家庭可能更幸福. 此次调查是由德克萨斯大学的社会学教授诺费尔·葛兰设计分析的.

"It surprises me that people would be so brazen as to do something like this. What's next? Someone taking a downtown building?"
"居然有人会厚颜无耻地做出这种事, 真是让我太吃惊了. 接下来还会发生什么事呢? 有人去偷市中心的大楼? "
Street lamps, which weigh about 250 pounds apiece, have been snatched in both poor and affluent neighborhoods of Baltimore.
--不论是在富人区还是在穷人区, 巴尔的摩市内的许多电灯杆都被偷了. 这些电灯杆每根都重达250磅.

"Do you have a 'pain au chocolat' (chocolate croissant) and milk?"
"你们有羊角面包和牛奶吗? "
A croissant was the first thing a 27-year-old French fisherman asked for when he was rescued after drifting in the Caribbean for 20 days with a broken engine.
--一27岁的法国渔民因渔船引擎故障在加勒比海漂流了20天, 被救上来后的第一句话是要一个羊角面包.


Vocabulary
bruise 损伤
whirlwind 旋风
conviction 深信
solidarity 团结
prickly 棘手的
predecessor 前任