Curries against violence

Summary

24 February 2010

Following recent attacks against Indian students in Melbourne, Australians are being encouraged to eat a special Indian meal as a way to protest against racism towards members of the Indian community.

Reporter:
Nick Bryant


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REPORT

A vindaloo against violence, a poppadum for peace, a mild korma for good karma. With whatever Indian dish they care to consume, Australians are being invited to eat a curry to make a stand against racial violence.

It follows a spate of attacks against Indians in Melbourne, including the murder of an Indian graduate student, Nitin Garg, at the start of the year. That's tarnished the reputation of Australia's second most populous city and resulted in a steep fall-off in visa applications from overseas students.

The organisers report that some ten thousand people have registered to take part and that curry houses across the city have started booking out. Australian expats around the world are also being invited to take part.

Nick Bryant, BBC News, Melbourne


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VOCABULARY

>a vindaloo
a very spicy Indian dish usually made from meat and lots of spices, including chilli peppers and garlic

>a poppadom
a thin, light, crispy fried dish made from rice flour and ground lentils, usually eaten as a snack with sauces

>a mild korma
a creamy curry made with yoghurt which does not contain much chilli pepper

>good karma
an Asian belief that if we treat other people well, then we will be treated well in return

>to make a stand against
to do or say something which makes it very clear that you don't agree with something

>a spate of attacks
a lot of attacks that happened within a short space of time

>tarnished
spoiled, stained, ruined

>a steep fall-off in
a sudden drop in the number of

>booking out
getting full, running out of tables, unable to serve any more diners

>Australian expats
Australian people who currently live in other countries; 'expats' is short for 'expatriates'



Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/02/100224_witn_vindaloo.shtml

'Junk' bonuses now worth billions

Summary

26 February 2010

Bonuses, thought to be worthless and given to Credit Suisse bankers as punishment for their poor work, have now become much more valuable than many other 'safer' investments.

Reporter:
Alex Ritson


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REPORT

The five billion dollar pool of so-called 'Toxic Debt' was originally described as a way of forcing Credit Suisse investment bankers to "eat their own cooking".

The bank lost seven billion dollars last year, in large part because of the investment decisions of some of its best paid staff. They'd put money into complicated financial products linked to risky commercial debt secured, on among other things, a Japanese shopping centre, an American supermarket chain and other commercial property that had plunged in value.

At the height of the financial crisis, many people thought these investments were worthless. To Credit Suisse, it seemed right to share them out as annual bonuses among the people who had apparently got things so wrong. But as confidence has returned to the market, it's become clear that the toxic asset pool wasn't nearly as toxic as had been thought.

The toxic bonus fund has soared in value by 72 percent. That compares with a 60 percent increase in the value of Credit Suisse shares over the same period, or a mere 19 percent rise in America's Dow Jones index.

The bankers may well feel they've earned their money though. Credit Suisse is safely back in profit and unlike its rivals at UBS, Credit Suisse didn't take a bail out from the Swiss Government.

Alex Ritson, Business Reporter, BBC News


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VOCABULARY

>toxic debt
loans bought from other financial institutions which failed to make money because people and organisatios were unable to pay them back; such loans are thought of as poisonous

>financial products
services that financial companies offer to help them make money, such as bank loans, mortgages and insurance policies

>risky
dangerous, likely to fail, may cause loss or harm

>secured
guaranteed

>supermarket chain
group of supermarkets in different areas which all have the same name and are owned by the same company

>plunged in value
was suddenly worth a lot less money than before

>asset pool
collection of investments which the owners believe will go up in value rather go down

>has soared
has suddenly increased or gone up

>its rivals
its competitors in business

>a bail out
money that has been given to an institution or a person to save them from going out of business



Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/02/100226_witn_suisse_bankers.shtml

Toyota recall reaches Europe

Summary

29 January 2010

Toyota is to expand a huge safety recall of some of its cars to Europe. It has already recalled 2.3 million vehicles in North America and has suspended production and sales of eight models.

Reporter:
Roland Buerk


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REPORT

Toyota says the number of vehicles and the models that will be recalled in Europe is still being investigated. It said in some rare cases the accelerator pedal mechanism could become worn and stick while pressed down.

The same problem, which may cause a car to speed out of control, has led to a recall of 2.3 million vehicles in North America. Sales have been suspended of eight Toyota models there, including the best-selling Camry. Production will be stopped for at least a week in the company's factories in the United States and Canada.

In a separate move, Toyota is recalling over 5 million vehicles in the United States to replace accelerators which could become stuck under floor mats. Some vehicles are affected by both problems.

The safety concerns are damaging Toyota's reputation for reliability and quality, which helped it to overtake General Motors to become the world's biggest car maker. In Tokyo the company's shares fell by 3.9% on Thursday on top of a 4.3% drop on Wednesday.

Roland Buerk, BBC News, Tokyo

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VOCABULARY

>models
particular types of car

>recalled
when a product is ordered to be returned to the company which made it

>the accelerator pedal mechanism
the part of a car which you push down with your foot to make it go faster

>worn
old and damaged by continued use

>stick
when something stays in the same place and cannot be moved

>speed out of control
go faster than the driver wishes and could lead to an accident

>suspended
stopped temporarily or permanently

>in a separate move
a new course of action which has nothing to do with the first

>reputation for reliability
well-known or famous for producing cars which are good quality and do not break very often

>overtake
become more successful than another thing or company



Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/01/100129_witn_toyota_page.shtml

Clean money for New Year

Summary

15 February 2010

Chinese people around the world are celebrating their most important holiday, Chinese New Year. But for one man in Taiwan, it's all about business as he washes dirty banknotes for gifts.

Reporter:
Kate McGeown


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REPORT

According to Chinese tradition, parents give their children clean, fresh banknotes at the start of the new year. But such notes are in high demand in the run-up to the holiday period, and Yao Guan Cheng noticed a gap in the market.

Yao Guan Cheng (translated):
"When we first started this business, it was for family members who liked to collect antique banknotes. But later on, it struck me that this service would come in handy for the Chinese New Year. It is one of our customs to put banknotes inside little red envelopes in order to bring our children good luck.

"To do that, people change old notes for new ones at the banks. But here in Taiwan, there are all sorts of restrictions as to how much you can change, what days you can do that and which banks you can go to. That's inconvenient. So I thought: why not give people an alternative?"

He doesn't just soak the notes in water, he uses special chemicals that are a closely guarded secret. His services don't come cheap, he charges about $10 for washing twenty banknotes. But in the run-up to the new year holiday, he's been in demand, cleaning people's banknotes and in the process, giving a new, cleaner, image to the term 'money laundering'.

Kate McGeown, BBC News


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VOCABULARY

>are in high demand
are wanted in large numbers by many people

>in the run-up to
during the time just before an event or specific date

>a gap in the market
a business opportunity, a chance to make money by providing something or a service that was not available

>antique
something that is very old, usually more than a hundred years old

>it struck me
it suddenly occured to me, I suddenly realised that

>handy
useful and easy to use

>inconvenient
difficult, causes problems

>soak the notes in water
leave the money in water for quite a long time

>a closely guarded secret
information that is only known to a few selected people

>money laundering
an illegal process by which criminals attempt to hide money from government officials because it has been earned illegally or taxes should be paid on it



Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/02/100215_witn_money.shtml

Nasa robot stuck on Mars

Summary

27 January 2010

The US space agency (Nasa) has decided to stop trying to free one of its robots from soft sand on the planet Mars.

The Spirit Mars rover has been stuck since May 2009.

Reporter:
Jonathan Amos


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REPORT

Dug deep into the soil and with its wheels spinning, Spirit has had to accept the inevitable - it's never going to move again. In its six years on the planet, this robotic geologist has taken thousands of images and found evidence in the rocks of a wetter, warmer past in Mars' history. Its mission will now have to change. As a static station, it can still study the planet's atmosphere and deep interior. The priority currently is to position its solar panels to get as much energy from the Sun to keep it alive through the coming winter.

Even so, Nasa expects Spirit to get so low on power that it'll go into hibernation, cutting communications with Earth for perhaps six months.

Whatever the future holds for Spirit, its mission has been an outstanding success. When it landed on the Red Planet in January 2004, no-one was really sure how long it would continue working in what is a cold and dusty environment. Three months was one initial goal.

In the event, it just kept on rolling. And its twin robot, Opportunity, which landed a few weeks after Spirit in a different part of Mars, continues to rove freely to this day.

Nasa has spent more than $900 million on the project but shows no sign of giving up on these tenacious robots. The rovers are, though, experiencing gradual wear and tear. Even before Spirit got trapped, one of its wheels had failed. And Nasa says it's just a matter of time before both robots break down completely.

Jonathan Amos, BBC Science Correspondent


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VOCABULARY

> spinning
turning around and around but not able to move forwards or backwards

> to accept the inevitable
to agree that there is nothing that can be done to change something

> robotic geologist
machine used to study the structure of a planet and its rocks

> static
not moving

> go into hibernation
switch to a power-saving mode and use as little energy as possible until it is able to 'wake-up' again when there is more energy available

> initial goal
the first plan which would have been thought a success

> to rove freely
to travel easily

> tenacious
determined and hard-working

> wear and tear
the expected damage to something caused by using it repeatedly over a period of time



Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/01/100127_witn_nasa_spirit_mars.shtml