This is the VOA Special English Development Report. <!– IMAGE –>The
World Health Organization is using a new combination of drugs to treat human
African trypanosomiasis disease, also known as sleeping sickness.  The drugs nifurtimox and eflornithine will be given
out in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.Officials from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative
say the new treatment has fewer side effects. 
It is also more effective and less costly than the drugs traditionally
used.  In addition, the new treatment
reduces the number of injections needed. And it shortens the amount of time
patients must spend in the hospital.Sleeping sickness threatens millions of
people in thirty-six countries in Africa. 
Most live in poor rural areas. The disease is caused by the trypanosoma
parasite.  It is spread to humans through
the bite of infected tsetse flies.Common signs of sleeping sickness include fever, headaches,
extreme tiredness and pain in the muscles and joints. Early identification of
the disease may be difficult because many infected people do not show any
immediate symptoms.Over
time, the parasites invade the central nervous system. The disease causes sleep
disorders, mental confusion, personality changes, speech problems, seizures and
coma. If left untreated, sleeping sickness kills.The World Health Organization estimates that about
sixty thousand people are currently infected with the disease. It develops in two
different forms. Trypanosoma gambiense is responsible for ninety percent of the
reported cases of sleeping sickness. People infected with this form may develop
the disease over many years without any major symptoms. The disease develops
more quickly over a few weeks or months in people infected with trypanosoma
rhodesiense.Until now the drug melarsoprol was used to treat
patients in the advanced stage of sleeping sickness.But
the drug requires many painful injections several times a day for several
weeks. It also causes bad side effects, some of which can be deadly.In
Uganda, a new study has confirmed earlier research linking the spread of sleeping
sickness to infected farm animals.  The writers
of the study have called for stronger rules requiring cattle to be treated
before being sold at market.  The study was
published in the Public Library of Science.And
that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve
Ember.

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AA: I’m Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: English teacher Lida Baker suggests five resolutions for people who want to improve their English in the New Year.LIDA BAKER: “My first resolution that I would recommend people make is to spend a certain amount of time listening to English — and it can be five minutes a day or it can be 10 minutes a week or it can be whatever suits a person’s work schedule, life schedule or whatever. But it’s really important to set goals and to stick to them. And it would be very helpful if people had Internet access to do this, because what I’m going to recommend is listening to sites that have scripts included. “RS: “What do you do if you don’t have access to a computer, how can you listen better?LIDA BAKER: “Well, almost everyone all over the world has access to pop music. And one of my resolutions would be to spend time listening to English music. The advantage of listening to music is that it’s a really wonderful way to work on your pronunciation, because you get a feeling for the stress and the rhythm of the language when you’re singing. And also music is full of idioms, so it’s a terrific way to learn colloquial vocabulary and to work on your pronunciation. And a third advantage of listening to music is that it’s really easy to remember.”So for people who have access only to a radio, even they can do something to improve their English just by listening to pop music. And I might add, if you do have access to the Internet, there are lots of Internet sites that will give you the lyrics to pop songs. Do a search, type ‘music’ or ’songs’ plus ‘lyrics,’ and you’ll find sites where you can type in the name of the song and it will give you the lyrics to the song.RS: “So spend a little bit more time listening, or have a goal for listening. Listen to English music. What else?”LIDA BAKER: “Something else I tell my students, and they’re always surprised when I tell them this, is read children’s books.”AA: “That makes sense, though.”LIDA BAKER: “Yeah. Why do you say that?”RS: “Well, few words.”AA: “It’s simpler.”RS: “Direct, simple. Lots of pictures.”LIDA BAKER: “There you go.”RS: “That puts it in a context.”LIDA BAKER: “There you go. And the other thing is, you can find children’s books at all levels. If you were a total beginner in English, you start with books that have just a few words on the page and lots of pictures, and you can work your way up to books that have relatively speaking more text and fewer illustrations. But again, children’s books are very motivating. To this day I enjoy reading the books that I read to my daughter when she was a little girl.”AA: “So now we’ve got the listening to the radio, listening to music, going online and looking for scripts of programs to go with the audio, reading children’s books. What’s your next resolution?”LIDA BAKER: “Learn a new word every day. And if you don’t have time to do it every day, do it every other day. Again, pick a realistic goal. Choose your word, look up the meaning, but then don’t stop there. Look at the examples in the dictionary for how the word is used. Is it used as a noun? Is it a verb? Is it used to talk about people? If it’s an adjective, does it have a positive meaning or a negative meaning? So look for what’s called the connotation of the word. And then, when you’re sitting in your car, or you’re walking to the bus stop or sitting on the bus, practice. Put the word into your own sentences. Think of ways that you could use that word.”And so now we come to our last resolution, which in a way is the most difficult one, because my last resolution would be, even if it’s only very occasionally, talk to native speakers every chance you get.”RS: Lida Baker teaches English and writes textbooks in Los Angeles, California.AA: That’s all for Wordmaster this week. Our e-mail address is word@voanews.com. And Internet users can read and listen to all of our segments at voanews.com/wordmaster.RS: With Avi Arditti, I’m Rosanne Skirble.

Asian American Investment Managers’ 3rd Annual Conference “Building Bridges: Captial Access, Asia, Policy” Attracts Over 200 Participants From the U.S. and Asia

CA State Controller John Chiang and New York City Comptroller John Liu

AAAIM Breakfast Panel, from left to right: Takahide Mizuno (Nomura Asset Management), Larry Schloss (New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Chris Ailman (CalSTRS), Joe Dear (CalPERS), Clark Cheng (HSBC)

Innovation in Foundations and Endowments panel – left to right: Ben Liou (Getty Foundaton), John Jenks (James Irvine Foundation), Lynda Choi (UC Office of the Regents), Ravi Karra (Cambridge Associates)

AAAIM was founded in 2006 to serve as a platform for Asian American investment managers to meet and conduct business with plan sponsors, fund-of-funds and institutional investors. We encourage institutional investors to diversify their pool of fund managers by introducing them to high-performing, qualified Asian American fund managers across all major asset classes such as hedge funds, fixed income, private equity, real estate, and venture. AAAIM encourages and fosters business ties among Asian-led and managed firms, and takes a deep interest in mentoring Asian American students who intend to create a career in finance. For more info, please go to http://www.aaaim.org.

China Construction Bank reported a record quarterly net profit for the third quarter, on rapid growth of its fee-based businesses.

KB Financial reported a weaker-than-expected third-quarter net profit and foreshadowed even more hefty charges next quarter as it continues a dramatic overhaul.

The microlending movement that was supposed to help lift millions of people in India out of poverty has in recent weeks fallen into chaos. It is a rare black mark for an industry that has been praised.

Sony posted a profit of $384 million and raised its full-year profit targets as its videogame business eased the blow of the yen’s strength. Rival Panasonic posted a profit surge but warned of an “uncertain business environment.”

India’s Mahindra & Mahindra posted an unexpected 7.8% rise in second-quarter net profit as it gained from higher sales of sport-utility vehicles and tractors.

Honda and Mazda reported solid earnings in the fiscal second quarter, as growing sales and cost-cuts canceled out the yen’s punishing impact on their earnings.

China Petroleum & Chemical, or Sinopec, said the company is in talks with BP PLC to explore and develop shale gas resource in China.