loot
valued at about $113 million.
After 900 years of male
dominance
, the authorities of the Italian lagoon city of Venice have for the first time granted a full license to a female gondolier. Twenty-four-year old Giorgia Boscolo, whose father is also a gondolier, has passed a year long series of
practical
and written tests. Venice’s deputy mayor said that there had been
excessive
male domination inside the gondolier’s guild, which jealously guards the trade.
The first Youth Olympic Games have opened in Singapore with a
spectacular
ceremony on a floating stage. The International Olympic Committee president, Jacques Rogge, called the game a new chapter in the Olympic movement. More than 3,500 athletes aged between 14 and 18 will take part. Organizers say they are confident the 12-day Games will be a big success. But there has also been criticism of the cost of the event and
sluggish
ticket sales.
BBC News.
巴基斯坦政府被批评没有抵达受灾难性洪水影响的多数难民。信息部长卡伊拉(Zaman Kaira)表示,官方已经竭尽全力帮助所有2000万受灾民众。
“还有一些民众没有收到救援,但是这并不意味着救援不会到达,我们会利用一切资源,我们会使用直升飞机,会使用卡车,因为一些道路被洪水阻断,一些桥梁被洪水冲垮……所以,要抵达就在群众殊非易事。”