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May 11
Kwame Nkrumah emerged as a leading nationalist figure after World War
II
1956: Gold Coast to get independence
England have
The Gold Coast is to become the first black African nation to be granted
independence from Britain.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd
said the Gold Coast will be allowed to govern itself within the Commonwealth
provided a general election is held in the country.
"If an election will be the only solution to the present situation then
[Kwame Nkrumah] will go to the country as soon as possible." Gold Coast Finance
Minister said.
The new West African state will incorporate the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the
Northern Territories and Togoland, which recently voted to integrate with the
Gold Coast.
He set the target date for independence at 6 March, 1957.
The fledgling state will be named Ghana after an ancient West African
kingdom which flourished from 300AD to 1100AD.
Ghana will be the first black African nation to become independent from
Britain, but there are fears of internal fighting between various tribes in the
region over a new constitution. For this reason, the minister is insisting on
elections for a new legislature that will then be asked to approve
self-governance.
The finance minister of the Gold Coast, Mr Gbedemah, welcomed Mr
Lennox-Boyd"s announcement today and in an interview with the BBC made
assurances that elections would be held soon.
"I know enough to be able to say that the prime minister [Kwame Nkrumah]
has been planning that if an election will be the only solution to the present
situation then he will go to the country as soon as possible," he said.
The Gold Coast has been a British colony since 1901. After World War I part
of the German colony of Togoland was mandated to the British, who linked it
administratively with the Gold Coast colony.
In the Gold Coast, nationalist activity intensified after World War II.
Kwame Nkrumah of the Convention People"s Party (CPP) emerged as the leading
nationalist figure.
In 1951, Britain granted a new constitution, which had been drawn up by
Africans, and general elections were held. The CPP won and Mr Nkrumah became
prime minister.
Satellite images of the nuclear test site have shocked the world
1998: India explodes nuclear controversy
Artificially 1969:
The
The Indian government has announced it has carried out a series of
underground nuclear tests.
It is the first time India has carried out such tests since 1974.
The experiments took place without any warning to the international
community, and there has been widespread outrage and concern over the move.
The test site, in Pokhran in the northern desert state of Rajasthan, is
only about 150km (93 miles) from the border with Pakistan.
The two countries have fought three wars since independence with Britain in
1947, mainly over the disputed territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and there are
fears the tests could escalate the conflict and spark a regional nuclear arms
race.
"Contained explosions"
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee broke the news to journalists in a
hastily-convened news conference.
"These were contained explosions like the experiment conducted in May
1974," he said.
"I warmly congratulate the scientists and engineers who have carried out
these successful tests."
He said the devices tested were a fission device, a low-yield device and a
thermonuclear device. He said there had been no release of radioactivity into
the atmosphere.
There was immediate condemnation of the tests from Pakistan.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, said his country had been
trying to draw the world"s attention to India"s nuclear programme.
"As a sovereign and independent nation," he said, "Pakistan will make its
own decision on the steps to be taken towards its sovereignty and defence."
Arms race threat
There was already strong diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to show restraint
and avoid retaliating - the only hope of avoiding a damaging arms race.
Last month Pakistan tested its own long-range nuclear missile, the Hatf-5,
which has a range of up to 1,500km (932 miles).
The tests are said to have contributed to India"s decision to launch its
own nuclear tests today.
India is known to have developed a short-range nuclear missile, the
Prithvi, with a range of 150km (93 miles) but it is working on a much longer
range system, the Agni, which could reach targets up to 2,500km (1553 miles)
away.
India, Pakistan and Israel are the three nations widely suspected of
nuclear capability which have not joined the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation
treaty, now observed by 185 countries.
Vocabulary:
fledgling:new and untried or inexperienced(新生的，无经验的)
thermonuclear: 高原子核反应的 |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:21:14