1）The Taliban has threatened to kill 23 Korean hostages it kidnapped if Afghan foreign troops attempt to free them by force. Taliban spokesman issued the warning in telephone interviews with at least two media outlets. The warning came after the Afghan Defense Ministry said that Afghan and US-led coalition troops had surrounded several areas in Ghazni province where the hostages are believed to be held.

2）Pakistani military officials say troops have killed 19 pro-Taliban militants in 2 clashes and the North Waziristan tribal area that has been a scene of increased violence recently. The military said today / the militants tried to attack army positions on Saturday. But the attacks were foiled and 13 militants were killed.

3）Turkish voters have turned out in force selecting a new parliament in polls that will determine the balance between the Islamist-oriented ruling party and opposition party seeking to keep a religionary politics. Long lines were reported early today at polling stations in Ankara, Istanbul as voters sought to avoid mid-day temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius. Pre-election surveys show Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan winning a second term but his Justice and Development Party could lose some ground in the 550-member parliament to nationalists and secularists.

4）The International Organization for Migration says only a fraction of the more than 2.2 million people forced to flee their homes in Iraq is getting the basic humanitarian assistance they need. More details in this news from Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

“The International Organization for Migration reports one million Iraqis have been displaced since the bombing of a Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra in Feburary 2006. It says some 60,000 people in Iraq are being uprooted from their homes every month because of sectarian violence. IOM spokeswoman Jemini Pandya says the country is facing its worst ever displacement crisis. She says the displacement is going on longer than anyone had imagined and she says this is causing the humanitarian situation to worsen everyday.”

“An IOM’s mid-year review confirms that the trends observed the end of 2006, the fact that host communities are struggling hard to cope with the sheer weight of numbers of people arriving needing shelter, food and other facilities.

Pandya says the competitions for limited resources such as food, water and sanitation, health care and jobs---is fierce. She says lack of security is hampering the delivery of humanitarian assistance.” Lisa Schlein for VOA news, Geneva.

5）And now to the latest developments in Iraq. Coalition forces there have detained two suspected weapons smugglers. The US military says may have ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds force. The military issued a statement saying that the suspects and weapons were seized during a raid on a rural farm compound in eastern Iraq.

6）Meanwhile a published report says the US ambassador in Baghdad has asked the Bush administration to grant the immigrant visas to all Iraqis employed by the US government in Iraq. The Washington Post said today that ambassador Ryan Crocker is concerned that Iraqi employees will quit and flee the country if they cannot be assured eventual safe passage to the United States.

常用专有名词：
1）Defense Ministry 国防部
2）Turkey （土尔其,地跨亚、欧两洲，位于地中海和黑海之间）-- Ankara（安卡拉,土尔其首都）, Istanbul（伊斯坦布尔,地跨欧亚两洲，是土耳其最大的城市、最大的港口和主要的旅游胜地） adj. Turkish
3） Celsius （温度）摄氏
4）Justice and Development Party --正义与发展党（土耳其政党，其前身是激进的宗教政党美德党Virtue Party)
5）The International Organization for Migration （IOM）国际移民组织
6）Geneva --日内瓦(瑞士第三大城市,超过了200个的国际重要机构设于此)
7）Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force 伊朗革命卫队属下的精锐部队"圣城旅"
8）the Bush administration--布什政府
9) The Washington Post （《华盛顿邮报》，美国华盛顿哥伦比亚特区最大、最老的报纸。1970年代初通过揭露水门事件和迫使理查德·尼克松总统退职，《华盛顿邮报》获得了国际威望。）