Terrorism Deaths Rose in 2007, Including a Big Jump in Pakistan

Terrorism Deaths Rose in 2007, Including a Big Jump in Pakistan
The U.S. State Department says the number of attacks worldwide was roughly unchanged from 2006. Also, the latest findings about press freedoms around the world. Transcript of radio broadcast:
02 May 2008

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Saturday is World Press Freedom Day, a good time to talk about two new reports on press freedoms around the world. But first we look at another report that was in the news this week.

The American State Department released its yearly Country Reports on Terrorism. The National Counterterrorism Center reported more than fourteen thousand attacks around the world last year.

The number was about the same as the year before. But deaths increased almost nine percent, to more than twenty-two thousand last year.

The report said well over fifty percent of those killed or injured were Muslims, and most were victims of attacks in Iraq.

In Iraq, the number of attacks fell but the number of people killed, injured or kidnapped increased. In Afghanistan, both numbers were higher.


The report says attacks in Pakistan more than doubled last year as militancy and extremism spread. More than one thousand three hundred people were killed -- an increase of almost three hundred percent.
Internationally, there was a twenty-two percent increase in attacks on schools.

The report says al-Qaida and its allies remain the greatest terrorist threat to the United States and its partners. Many al-Qaida members have been captured or killed. But the report says the group has rebuilt some of its capabilities while operating in Pakistani tribal areas.

And it says al-Qaida leaders continued to plot attacks and build stronger connections with groups in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is described now as the "strategic and operational planner" for the group.

The State Department said Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism. It says Iran provides aid to Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraq-based militants and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

The American list of countries declared state sponsors of terrorism remained at five: Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan and Cuba. But the report says Sudan continued to take steps to cooperate in the war on terrorism. And North Korea might soon leave the list. Officials say the country is not known to have supported any terrorist acts since nineteen eighty-seven.

But a separate report this week said North Korea has the world's most repressive media environment. The Freedom House organization says forty-two percent of all people in the world live without basic freedom of the media. It says freedoms decreased for the sixth straight year.

Another report, from the Committee to Protect Journalists, rated countries on efforts to find the killers of journalists. Over a nine-year period, governments in South Asia had the worst records in solving cases. The report says the countries included Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

----------------------------Google Translate

恐怖主义的死亡人数上升到2007年，包括一个很大的跳转在巴基斯坦
美国国务院说，袭击的次数在全世界大约是从2006年不变。此外，最新的调查结果有关的新闻自由在世界各地。全文电台广播：
2008年5月2日

这是在新闻中在美国之音特别英语。

周六是世界新闻自由日，一个良好的时间来谈谈两个新的报告对新闻的自由在世界各地。但首先，我们看看在另一份报告，这是在新闻这个星期。

美国国务院发表的年度国别报告关于恐怖主义问题。国家反恐中心报道，以上14000攻击世界各地的去年。

人数大约是一样的前一年。但死亡人数几乎增加了9 ％ ，超过22000去年。

报告说，超过50 ％的受访者死亡或受伤是穆斯林，大部分的受害者，攻击在伊拉克。

在伊拉克，袭击的次数下降，但有多少人丧生，受伤或遭绑架增加。在阿富汗，这两个数字更高。

报告说，袭击事件在巴基斯坦的一倍多，去年的好战和极端主义的蔓延。超过1300人被杀害-增加了几乎3 00％ 。
在国际上，有一个22 ％的增长，袭击学校。

报告说，基地组织和其盟国仍然是最大的恐怖威胁，美国和其合作伙伴。许多基地组织成员已被抓获或被击毙。但报告说，专案小组已重建它的一些经营能力，同时在巴基斯坦的部落地区。

它说，基地组织的领导人继续阴谋攻击和建立强大的连接与团体，在中东，北非和欧洲。拉登的顶端副主席，副手扎瓦希里，是形容现在为“战略和业务规划”为组。

美国国务院说，伊朗仍是最活跃的国家赞助的恐怖主义。它说，伊朗提供的援助巴勒斯坦恐怖团伙，黎巴嫩真主党，伊拉克为基础的武装分子和塔利班战士在阿富汗。

美国的国家名单宣布支持恐怖主义的国家仍处于5 ：伊朗，叙利亚，北韩，苏丹和古巴。但报告说，苏丹继续采取步骤，合作，在对恐怖主义的战争。和北韩有可能即将离开的名单。官员说，该国不知道有支持任何恐怖行为，自1987年。

但另一份报告，这周说，北韩拥有世界上最具镇压性的媒体环境。自由之家组织说， 42 ％的世界各国人民的生活没有基本的媒体自由。它说，自由下降为第六届直年。

另一份报告，从保护记者委员会，评为国家就努力寻找凶手的记者。超过9年期间，各国政府在南亚的纪录最差的在解决个案。报告说，国家包括斯里兰卡，阿富汗，尼泊尔，孟加拉国，巴基斯坦和印度。

这是在新闻中在美国之音特别英语，写的brianna布雷克。我史蒂夫ember 。