12-26-07

非洲裔美国人开始庆祝宽扎节 (African-Americans Begin Celebration of Kwanzaa Holiday)

今天(星期三)是美国非洲裔社区纪念为期一个星期的文化节日“宽扎节”的第一天。宽扎节由活动人士和学者莫拉纳.卡伦加创立于民权和黑人自由运动处于高潮的1966年。他以传统的非洲“第一果实”或者丰收庆祝为宽扎节的基础，目的是推广非洲裔美国家庭、社区和文化。

宽扎节的每一天里，各个家庭都要点燃一只蜡烛。第一天的主题是团结。其它6天包括自决、共同工作及责任、合作经济、目的、创造和信仰。

Today (Wednesday) marks the first day of the week-long observance of Kwanzaa, a cultural holiday within the African-American community. Kwanzaa was established in 1966, during the height of the Civil Rights and Black Freedom movements, by activist and scholar Maulana Karenga. He based the observance on traditional African "first fruit," or harvest celebrations, with the goal of promoting African-American families, community and culture.

Families light a candle for each day of the Kwanzaa holiday. The first day is dedicated to the theme of unity. The other six days include self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

反对派候选人退出俄总统大选 (Opposition Candidate Withdraws From Russian Presidential Race)

俄罗斯反对党候选人、前副总理涅姆佐夫退出俄罗斯的总统竞选。涅姆佐夫是右翼力量联盟的一位领导人。他星期三说，民主反对派在明年3月的选举中应该只有一位候选人。他在自己的网站上发表的声明中宣布退选。

涅姆佐夫称即将到来的总统大选是一场闹剧，说克里姆林宫在利用宣传、安全和官僚体制压制反对派。其他5位候选人继续参加总统大选，包括由现任总统普京的统一俄罗斯党提名的第一副总理梅德韦杰夫。

其他候选人是俄罗斯共产党领导人久加诺夫、自由民主党人日里诺夫斯基、前总理卡西亚诺夫以及民主党候选人博格达诺夫。俄罗斯宪法禁止普京总统竞选三届连任。

An opposition candidate and former deputy prime minister Nemtsov has withdrawn from Russia's presidential race. Boris Nemtsov, a leader in the Union of Right Forces party (SPS) ，Wednesday said the democratic opposition should have a single candidate in the March election. He withdrew from the race in a statement posted on his website.

Nemtsov called the upcoming presidential election a farce, saying the Kremlin is using propaganda and security and bureaucratic pressures against the opposition. Five other candidates remain in the presidential race, including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, who was nominated by current President Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party.

The others are Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Liberal Democrat Vladimir Zhirinovsky, former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, and Andrei Bogdanov of the Democratic Parity. Russia's constitution bars Mr. Putin from seeking a third consecutive term.