BBC News with Fiona McDonald.
The chief executive of the oil company BP Tony Hayward has come underferociouscriticism before a US congressional hearing held to examine the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr Hayward called the situation a tragedy, but he defended his approach to safety. Paul Adams reports from Washington.
Before the hearing began, the committee's chairman said he expected Tony Hayward to be sliced and diced, and so he was. BP's chief executive said he wasconstrainedby the fact that a number of investigations into the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon have yet to finish.Over and over, he refused to agree with the conclusions of a group of angry hostile congressmen and women who seemed in no doubt after their own lengthy inquiries that BP had shown arecklesslack of attention to safety. Infuriated by Mr Hayward's inability or unwillingness to answer their questions, committee membersresorted toexpressing their disgust, more than one saying he felt insulted.
The United States has welcomed Israel's decision to ease its three-year blockade of the Gaza Strip. The White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called this a step in the right direction. Earlier, international organizations greeted the Israeli move with scepticism. Amnesty International said Israel had yet tocomply withinternational law by lifting the blockade immediately. The head of the UN relief agency in Gaza, John Ging, said it was too early to say how the Israeli words would translate into action.
Five Somalis have beenconvicted of piracy in a Dutch court and sentenced to five years in prison. It's the first ruling of its kind in a European court. They were found guilty of attacking a cargo ship off the coast of Somalia last year. From The Hague, Geraldine Coughlin.
The men had claimed they were the innocent victims of engine failure and had tried to approach the cargo ship for help when they were mistaken for pirates and attacked. They were arrested after their high-speed boat was intercepted by a Danish frigate, part of a European Union anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden. The five men are convicted under the 17th century law of the sea, but their trialthrows openthe question ofjurisdictionover crimes at sea in international waters.
A new UN report is warning that organized crime has become a global force and threatens international peace and national sovereignty. The study says criminals are using weapons, violence and bribes to buy elections, politicians and even the military. The UN called organized crime one of theforemosteconomic and armed powers in the world. The study was spearheaded by Antonio Maria Costa who called for urgent action.
"Today, fundamentally, we witness once again the mistrust across borders. I see inability to share intelligence about organized group and information about markets and shipments andso on and so forth. We need to promote international cooperation against organized crime."
World News from the BBC.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews have staged one of the biggest protests against the state of Israel to press demands for their children to be educated separately from other Israelis.Around 100,000 Ashkenazi Jews took to the streets in Jerusalem and other cities in support of more than 40 parents who refused to let their girls share classrooms with Jewish pupils of Sephardic or Middle Eastern descent.
The European Union has agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme. The measures, which gosubstantiallybeyond those approved by the United Nations earlier this month, are designed to pressure Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment activity and return to negotiations.
The new British government has announced it's going to cut or freeze projects worth a total of 17 billion dollars to tackle a budget deficit. Among the projects to be cut are a new hospital, a visitor centre of the World Heritage Site for Stonehenge and a programme to help people looking for jobs.
In the World Cup, Argentina beat South Korea four-one, making them strongcontenders to win the tournament. The Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain scored a hat-trick. But it was a bad day for Nigeria who lost to Greece. In the final game of the day, Mexico beat France two-nil. Here's Alex Capstick.
This was awoefulperformance by France and joyous occasion for Mexico. Two second-half goals have given the Central American nation an accident chance of reaching the second round. As for France, an early exit from the tournament is now on the cards. Nor did result do South Africa any favours in their quest to get out of group A. It was a miserable evening in Polokwane for the French team and their coach Raymond Domenech. The man, who guided his country to the World Cup Final four years ago, has become deeply unpopular in France. He'sstanding downafter the current campaign. It now looks like that's going to be soonerrather thanlater.
BBC News.
美国国会举行听证会,检查墨西哥湾漏油事件的原因,BP石油公司总裁唐熙华(Tony Hayward)受到严厉批评。唐熙华说目前的形势是一个巨大的灾难,但是他为自己的安全态度作出辩护。Paul Adams在华盛顿报道。
听证会开始之前,该委员会主席表示,他预期唐熙华(Tony Hayward)将会被“大卸八块”,受到严厉审判,结果确实如此。BP总裁表示,对深水地平线钻井爆炸进行的几项调查还没有完成,他非常被动。国会一些愤怒的敌对的议员经过自己长时间的调查似乎确信,BP没有对安全问题引起足够的重视。而BP总裁却拒绝接受他们的结论。委员会成员被唐熙华拒绝回答问题的行为激怒,转而表达他们的厌恶之情,不止一人表示感到被侮辱。
以色列决定放松对加沙地带长达三年的封锁,美国对此表示欢迎。白宫发言人罗伯特·吉布斯称这是正确的一步。此前,国际组织对以色列的行为持怀疑态度。国际特赦组织表示,以色列没有遵守联合国法律,立即撤销封锁。联合国驻加沙救援机构负责人John Ging表示,目前断定以色列的承诺是否能转化成行动还为时过早。
五名索马里人在荷兰法庭被判海盗罪,背叛5年监禁。这是欧洲法庭上首例类似的裁决。这五人被发现于去年在索马里海岸袭击一艘货船。海牙,Geraldine Coughlin报道。
这五人声称他们是无辜的受害者,他们的引擎出现故障,试图接近货船寻求帮助,被误认为海盗,并受到袭击。这艘快艇被丹麦护卫舰拦截之后,五人被捕。丹麦护卫舰是欧盟在亚丁湾打击海盗行动的一部分。这五名男子按照17世纪的海洋法被判刑。但是他们的审判重新提出了国际水域海洋犯罪行为审判权的问题。
联合国一份新的报告警告称,团伙犯罪已经形成全球性的力量,将威胁国际和平和国家主权。这项研究称,这些犯罪分子使用武器,暴力,贿赂来收买选举,政治家,甚至军队。联合国称团伙犯罪是世界首要的经济和武装力量。这项研究由Antonio Maria Costa领导,他呼吁采取紧急行动。
“今天,我们从根本上再次目睹了国家之间的不信任。我发现,各国之间不能分享关于团伙犯罪的情报,关于市场,货物的信息等等。我们需要在打击团伙犯罪方面加强国际合作。”
BBC世界新闻。
极端正统犹太人对以色列政府发动了最大规模的抗议活动,要求他们的孩子与其他以色列人分离开来接受教育。大约100,000名德系犹太人走向耶路撒冷和其他城市的街头,支持40多位父母,他们拒绝让他们的女儿与西班牙系犹太人和中东犹太人共享教室。
欧盟同意针对伊朗有争议的核项目实施新的制裁。这些措施从本质上比本月初联合国通过的制裁措施更加严厉,旨在向德黑兰施压,要求其停止铀浓缩活动,重新开始谈判。
新一届英国政府宣布,为了应对财政赤字,他们将削减和冻结价值170亿美元的项目。其中包括新建医院,以及世界遗产史前巨石群的游客中心,以及帮助人们求职的项目。
在世界杯比赛中,阿根廷以4:1击败韩国队,使他们成为夺取这次比赛的最强球队。在比赛中,阿根廷前锋伊瓜因打出了帽子戏法。但是最尼日利亚来说则是糟糕的一天,他们输给了希腊。在当天的最后一场比赛中,墨西哥队以2:0击败了法国队。Alex Capstick报道。
这场比赛对于法国队来说非常悲哀,对于墨西哥来说则非常高兴。下半场的两个进球使这个中美洲国家意外进入第二轮比赛。对于法国队来说,提前出局几乎已成定局。在A组中,南非似乎要要出局。布陆克握纳之夜对于法国队和他们的教练Raymond Domenech来说都是痛苦的。
Raymond Domenech四年前曾带领国家队参加世界杯决赛,现在,他在法国已经非常不受欢迎。他原本计划于这次比赛之后辞职。现在看来,该计划只会提前。
1.ferocious adj.凶猛的, 残忍的, 凶暴的,凶恶的,猛烈的
例句:The house is guarded by a ferocious dog.
这栋房子由一条恶犬看守。
The oncoming force of the typhoon was ferocious.
这次台风来势凶猛。
2.constrained a.被强迫的,拘泥的,不舒服的
例句:I felt constrained to do what he told me.
我觉得自己是被迫去做他要我做的事情。
3.reckless adj.轻率的; 鲁莽的; 不顾危险的;不计后果的
例句:He thought she was too reckless at it.
他觉得她对它太粗心大意了。
4.convict vt.宣判有罪
例句:I have all the evidence necessary to convict this young criminal now.
我掌握一切必要的证据来给这个年轻犯人定罪。
5.jurisdiction n.司法权; 裁判权
例句:The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country.
法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。
6.foremost adj.最著名的, 最重要的; 最好的; 主要的;最前的
例句:He is considered the foremost British artist of this century.
他被认为是本世纪英国第一流的艺术家。
7.substantially adv.本质上,实质上;大体上
例句:His account of what happened is substantially accurate.
他对事情的叙述实质上是准确的。
8.contender n.(冠军)争夺者;竞争者
例句:a strong contender for the gold medal
金牌的强有力争夺者
9.woeful adj.悲哀的,忧愁的;可怜的;可悲的;糟糕透顶的;非常不幸的
1.Infuriated by Mr Hayward's inability or unwillingness to answer their questions, committee members resorted to expressing their disgust, more than one saying he felt insulted.
resort to诉诸于…,求助于,使用…
例句:The beggar resorted to the restaurant for some soup.
这个乞丐常去该饭店要汤喝。
The people resorted to violence to get their demands.
人们以诉诸暴力方式来得到需要。
2.Amnesty International said Israel had yet to comply with international law by lifting the blockade immediately.
comply with服从, 遵从
例句:The factory was closed for failing to comply with government safety regulations.
工厂由于未能遵守政府的安全条例而被关闭了。
The rule must be complied with.
这条规则必须遵守。
3.The five men are convicted under the 17th century law of the sea, but their trial throws open the question of jurisdiction over crimes at sea in international waters.
throw open突然打开,开放
例句:Threw open the nomination.
突然公布提名
4. I see inability to share intelligence about organized group and information about markets and shipments and so on and so forth.
so on and so forth如此等等
5.He's standing down after the current campaign. It now looks like that's going to be sooner rather than later.
stand down暂时辞退
rather than而不是
例句:They thus increased their annual grain production rather than diminished it.
他们这样增加了而不是减少了粮食年产量。
1.Over and over, he refused to agree with the conclusions of a group of angry hostile congressmen and women who seemed in no doubt after their own lengthy inquiries that BP had shown a reckless lack of attention to safety.
参考翻译:国会一些愤怒的敌对的议员经过自己长时间的调查似乎确信,BP没有对安全问题引起足够的重视。而BP总裁却拒绝接受他们的结论。
结构分析:这句话的主干是:he refused to agree with the conclusions。Over and over反复,再三,做状语。of a group of angry hostile congressmen是所有格形式,修饰conclusions。who seemed in no doubt是定语从句,修饰congressmen and women。after their own lengthy inquiries是时间状语从句。that BP had shown a reckless lack...是宾语从句,确定的具体内容。
2.Around 100,000 Ashkenazi Jews took to the streets in Jerusalem and other cities in support of more than 40 parents who refused to let their girls share classrooms with Jewish pupils of Sephardic or Middle Eastern descent.
参考翻译:大约100,000名德系犹太人走向耶路撒冷和其他城市的街头,支持40多位父母,他们拒绝让他们的女儿与西班牙系犹太人和中东犹太人共享教室。
结构分析:这句话的主干是前面的部分。in support of是目的状语。who refused to let……是定语从句,修饰40 parents。