BBC News with Iain Purdon
President Obama has condemned as inexcusable comments by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, suggesting that the US government was behind the September 11th attacks. President Obama drew a contrast between Mr Ahmadinejad's remarks and the expressions of sympathy from ordinary Iranians at the time. Mr Obama was speaking in an interview with the BBC Persian service.
"It was offensive. It was hateful. And particularly for him to make the statement here in Manhattan, just a little north of Ground Zero, where families lost their loved ones, people of all faiths, all ethnicities who see this as the seminal tragedy of this generation. For him to make a statement like that was inexcusable."
President Ahmadinejad says his country is open for dialogue over its nuclear programme. He made the comments at the UN General Assembly in New York. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, but Western countries suspect that it's secretly developing nuclear weapons. Jon Leyne reports.
President Ahmadinejad has suggested a meeting between Iran and the European Union representative Catherine Ashton in October. He talked about Iranian preconditions, though it's not clear specifically what he was referring to. The first topic is likely to be a fuel-swap deal negotiated a year ago, under which Iran would ship out stocks of enriched uranium in return for fuel for Tehran research reactor. That was originally meant as a confidence-building measure, leading to more substantive talks. But the deal was never implemented with each side blaming the other, and there's not much sign new negotiations will be any more constructive.
The African Union has urged the United Nations Security Council to delay the prosecution of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for a year to avoid destabilizing Sudan. The AU's chairman, President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi, accused the International Criminal Court of pushing for a "pound of flesh" from President Bashir, who denies charges of genocide and war crimes in Darfur.
The Kenyan police have leaked documents to the media that outline how an al-Qaeda cell inside the country operates. The cell has been linked with the bombings in the Ugandan capital Kampala in July, in which more than 70 people were killed. Our East Africa correspondent Will Ross reports.
The documents say tens of youths from across Kenya have joined the cell, have trained in Somalia and some have even fought alongside the Islamist group al-Shabab. There are details of how the Kampala attacks were planned, and we are also told that plans for twin attacks on Nairobi have begun. The timing of the leak is interesting. There is some disquiet here, especially amongst the Muslim community after 36 Kenyan Muslims were arrested and sent to Uganda. Ten of them have been charged in connection with the bombings there.
World News from the BBC
Britain has for the first time published its threat level from Northern Ireland-based terrorism, raising it from "moderate" to "substantial". That's the third highest category. The Home Office said there was a strong possibility that dissident Irish republican groups opposed to power-sharing in Northern Ireland would attack the British mainland. The threat level from international terrorism has remained "severe" since January. That's one below the "critical" top level.
Government officials in Nigeria say two million people in Jigawa state have been moved to higher ground after the authorities had to open floodgates on two rivers. Those displaced amount to about half the state's population. The Nigerian authorities said the floodgates had to be opened because water levels have become dangerously high.
Gunmen have shot dead the mayor of a town in northern Mexico, the fourth mayor to be killed over the past month. Prisciliano Rodriguez was the mayor of Doctor Gonzalez, a town 50km east of Monterrey, once considered one of the safest places in Mexico but which has seen an upsurge in violence over the past month. From Mexico City, Julian Miglierini reports.
The authorities say that Mr Rodriguez was killed along with an employee in the late evening as he was entering his house. Local justice officials say that they cannot yet establish a link between his death and the drug cartels operating in the area. However, the region is known to be at the core of a violent confrontation between criminals and government forces. Last month, the mayor of nearby Santiago, Edelmiro Cavazos, was kidnapped outside his home, and his body was found three days later not far from the town he governed.
The price of gold has hit $1,300 an ounce, a record figure. Analysts say it's partly in response to a weak performance by the US dollar after poor American economic figures. There is also concern about currency values if central banks would turn again to the policy of quantitative easing, in effect, printing more money.
BBC News
周四,伊朗总统内贾德在联合国大会上声称美国政府是9.11恐怖袭击的幕后主使,美国总统奥巴马对其提出了谴责,称这是不可原谅的。奥巴马总统将内贾德的讲话与普通伊朗人表现出的同情进行了对比。奥巴马接受了BBC记者Persian service的采访。
“这是非常无礼的,非常可恨的。尤其是在这样一个地方发表这样的评论,这里就在曼哈顿,就在归零地北面一点。九年前,就在这个地方,许多家庭失去亲人,所有宗教信仰的人,所有民族的人都将这次事件视为对这一代具有重大影响的灾难。他在这里发表这样的评论是不可饶恕的。”
艾哈迈迪-内贾德总统表示,他的国家在核项目对话方面是开诚布公的。他在纽约联合国大会上发表了这番讲话。伊朗表示,他们的核项目完全是用于和平目的,但是西方国家怀疑伊朗正在秘密研制核武器。Jon Leyne报道。
总统艾哈迈迪-内贾德曾建议,伊朗和欧盟代表凯瑟琳·阿什顿(Catherine Ashton)之间十月份举行会晤。他谈到了伊朗的条件,但是现在还不是很清楚他指的到底是什么。第一个话题可能是一年前协商的燃料交换协议。按照该协议,伊朗必须用浓缩铀储备交换燃料,用于德黑兰研究反应堆。这原本是信心建设措施,促进了更多实质性的对话。但是,由于双方相互谴责,该协议未能实施。而且目前还没有任何可能达成更有建设性的协议的迹象。
非洲联盟敦促联合国安理会,为了避免对苏丹造成动荡,将对苏丹总统巴希尔的控告延迟一年的时间。非洲联盟主席,马拉维总统宾古·瓦·穆塔里卡(Bingu wa Mutharika)指控国际刑事法庭对苏丹总统巴希尔提出了不合理的要求。巴希尔否认了在达尔富尔地区实施种族大屠杀和战争罪的指控。
肯尼亚警方向媒体泄漏了一些文件,概述了基地组织基层单位在该国的运作。该基层组织与七月份乌干达首都坎帕拉的爆炸有关,当时的爆炸造成70多人死亡。我们的东非记者Will Ross报道。
这些文件显示,肯尼亚数十名年轻人参加了该组织,在索马里接受了训练,甚至还有一些人与伊斯兰激进组织青年党并肩作战。文件中详述了坎帕拉袭击事件的计划,我们被告知,对内罗毕的两次袭击也已经开始计划。这次文件泄漏的时间非常有趣。一些人非常焦虑,尤其是36名肯尼亚穆斯林被捕并被送往乌干达之后,穆斯林社会非常忧虑。其中十人被控告与七月份的爆炸有关。
BBC世界新闻。
英国首次公开其承受的北爱尔兰恐怖主义的威胁,危险等级已经由“微弱”上升到“重大”。这已经是第三级。内政办公室表示,北爱尔兰反对权利分享的这些异己共和党组织极有可能袭击英国本土。自一月份以来,来自国际恐怖主义的威胁一直保持在“严重”水平,仅仅低于最高的“极其严重”的水平。
尼日利亚政府官员表示,政府开启了两条河流的闸门之后,吉加瓦州大约200万居民已经转移到地势较高的位置。被转移的人口占据了该州大约一半的人口。尼日利亚当局表示,由于河流水位上升到危险水平,他们不得不打开闸门。
持枪分子枪杀了墨西哥北部一个城镇的市长。这已经是过去的一个月遇难的第四名市长。Prisciliano Rodriguez是Doctor Gonzalez镇的市长,该城镇位于蒙特瑞东部50千米处。这里曾经被视为墨西哥最安全的地方,但是过去的一个月,这里的暴力时间大量增加。墨西哥城,Julian Miglierini报道。
当局表示,Rodriguez深夜和一名雇员一起回家时被杀。当地司法官员表示,他们目前还不能确定他的遇难是否与该地区的毒品卡特尔有关。然而,该地区一直是犯罪分子和政府力量之间暴力冲突的核心。上月,附近的圣地亚哥市长Edelmiro Cavazos在家外被绑架,三天之后,在距离他管辖的城镇不远的地方发现了他的尸体。
黄金价格已经达到创纪录的高度,每盎司1,300美元。分析人员称,这可能是对于美国经济持续低迷,美元持续疲软的部分反映。现在还有人担忧,如果中央银行印刷更多货币,货币会不会贬值。
1.inexcusable adj.不可原谅的, 不可宽恕的
例句: fear lest we commit an inexcusable blunder.
我为我们会犯不可原谅的错误而担忧。
2.sympathy n.同情; (感情上的)支持
例句:Although I pity him, my sympathies are with his family.
虽然我认为他可悲, 但我还是同情他的家人。
3.seminal adj.对以后发展有巨大影响的
例句:seminal ideas
有巨大影响的思想
4.precondition n.先决条件,前提
5.substantive a.表示实在的,有实质的,独立的
6.outline v.概述, 列提纲,略述
例句:He outlined his responsibilities.
他概述了自己的职责。
7.disquiet n.忧虑,不安,内心不平静,烦恼
例句:Her disquiet made us uneasy too.
她的忧虑使我们也很不安。
The disquiet will boil over in the long run.
这种不安情绪终有一天会爆发的。
8.dissident n.持异议者, 公开大唱反调者;持不同政见者,反对派
例句:That was the dissident movement in Poland.
那是波兰的持不同政见者的运动。
9.upsurge n.急剧增长;上升
例句:an upsurge in violent crime
暴力犯罪猛增
an upsurge of interest in science and technology
对科学技术的兴趣倍增
10.confrontation n.对抗, 对抗的事物;对峙,冲突
例句:We can’t risk another confrontation with the union.
我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
1.He talked about Iranian preconditions, though it's not clear specifically what he was referring to.
refer to有关, 针对
例句:The regulations refer only to children.
这些规定只适用于小孩子。
The new law does not refer to land used for farming.
那条新法律并不涉及耕种用地。
2.Those displaced amount to about half the state's population.
amount to意味着
例句:His words amounted to a threat.
他的话实际上是威胁。
3.Analysts say it's partly in response to a weak performance by the US dollar after poor American economic figures.
in response to对…做出反应
例句:She laughed in response to his jokes.
他的话引起她大笑。
The quick recovery was truly in response to medication.
这次迅速康复确实是对药物治疗的反应。
4.There is also concern about currency values if central banks would turn again to the policy of quantitative easing, in effect, printing more money.
turn to求助于
例句:He turned to me for help.
他向我求助。
She often turns to the book for guidance.
她经常参考那本书。
1.The first topic is likely to be a fuel-swap deal negotiated a year ago, under which Iran would ship out stocks of enriched uranium in return for fuel for Tehran research reactor.
under which
介词 关系代词”(关系代词一般指的是which/whom)引导的定语从句,有以下几种情况:
1.“介词 which”在定语从句中作时间,地点,原因状语,相当于关系副词。如:
(1)This is the reason for which(=why) he left the company.
这就是他离开公司的原因。
(2)He will never forget the day on which (=when) he went there.
他永远忘不了去那儿的那一天。
(3)Is this company the one in which (=where) you worked half a year ago?这就是半年前你在那儿工作的公司吗?
2.“介词 which/whom”在定语从句中作目的,方式状语。如:
(1)Can you tell me for whom you are working?
你能告诉我你现在为谁工作吗?
(2)There is a big hole on the wall through which he can see what’s happening inside.
墙上有一个大洞,通过这个洞他能看到里面所发生的一切。
(3)The train by which he is travelling is arriving.
他乘坐的那辆火车就要到了。
(4)In the dark street, there wasn’t a single person to whom she could turn for help.在漆黑的街上,没有一个人她可以求助。
3.“不定代词,数词或名词 of which/whom”在定语从句中充当主语。如:
(1)There are sixty students in our class, all of whom are working hard.
班上有60 名学生,他们都在努力学习。
(2)He paid the boy ten yuan for cleaning the windows, most of
which hadn’t been cleaned for at least a year.
他给了那个男孩十元钱擦那些至少一年未擦的窗户。
4.“形容词最高级 介词 关系代词”在定语从句中充当主语。如:
(1)There are sixty students in the class, the tallest of whom is Li Ming. 班上有六十名学生,其中最高的是李明。
(2)There are seven continents in the world, the largest of which is
Asia. 全球有七大洲,最大的是亚洲。
5.“the n. of which”引导的定语从句,相当于whose引导的定语从句。如:
(1)We took a photo of a rocket, the length of which was about 30
meters.=We took a photo of a rocket, whose length was about 30
meters. 我们给火箭拍了照,火箭大约长30米。
(2)Recently I bought an ancient Chinese vase, the price of which
was very reasonable.=Recently I bought an ancient Chinese vase,
whose price was very reasonable.
最近我买了一个中国古代花瓶,价格非常合理。
6.“介词 whose”修饰后面的名词。如:
He is the very man in whose pocket I found my lost money.
他就是那个我在他的口袋里找出我丢掉的钱的人。
7.“介词 which 不定式”此结构相当于一个简化了的定语从句。如:
(1)He found something about which to write(=he could write).
他发现有些事是可以写的。
(2)The poor man has no house in which to live.=The poor man has no house in which he can live. 这个穷人没有房子住。