BBC News with Fiona MacDonald
The former military ruler of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, says he is forming a new political party for an attemptedcomebackin the next general election due in 2013. He was speaking to Owen Bennett Jones who has this report.
Pervez Musharraf, who now lives in London, has for some months been talking about the possibility of returning to Pakistan, but now his plans arefirming up. He said he will be standing for a seat in the next parliament, and from there he hopes to become either prime minister or president. Asked whether he'd already had his chance and that it was time to give others an opportunity to lead, he said last time he lackedlegitimacyinternationally because he was in uniform. "I can't be sure of becoming president again," he said, "but I believe there is a good chance of my winning."
President Obama has called on Americans to maintain respect for other religious faiths as protests continue in the Muslim world over a threat by a fringe American church to burn copies of the Koran. The pastor behind the threat, Terry Jones, now says he's been persuaded to suspend his plan. Mr Obama said burning religious textswas contrary tothe values on which the United States was founded.
"I think it isabsolutelyimportant now for theoverwhelmingmajority of the American people tohang on tothat thing that is best in us, a belief in religious tolerance, clarity about who our enemies are. Our enemies are al-Qaeda and their allies who are trying to kill us but have killed more Muslims than just about anybody on Earth."
In other comments at his news conference, President Obama admitted the progress had been slow in pulling the US economy out of recession. However, he said the country was beginning toturn the cornerand every initiative by his administration was aimed atstimulatinggrowth. Mr Obama also acknowledged that he'd fallen short on his promise to shut the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within his first year in office, but he insisted that closure remained his goal.
A senior Iranian official has said the release of an American woman detained near the border with Iraq more than a year ago will not now go ahead on Saturday as announced. The Iranian authorities had suggested the woman, Sarah Shourd, would be freed. In July last year, she was arrested along with two American men near the Iraq border and accused of spying. Jon Leyne reports.
This news will come as a huge disappointment for the family of Sarah Shourd. She's believed to be suffering from aprecancerouscondition, and the Iranian authorities had said she would be released as a goodwill gesture for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. But now the Tehran prosecutor has been quoted on a semi-official news agency as saying that the release was cancelled because the legal procedures were not completed. That soundsominouslyas if her case has fallen victim to the increasingly bitter internalwranglingamongst those who rule Iran.
World News from the BBC
An official enquiry in Belgium has concluded that child abuse by Roman Catholic priests took place in nearly every diocese over several decades. The commission, which heard evidence from hundreds of victims, said it was shocked by the testimonies. However, the Church is cleared of asystematiccover-up. Jonty Bloom reports.
This commission's findings make grim reading. Hundreds of victimscame forwardto give details of horrific abuse by priests, Catholic school teachers and youth workers that sometimes went on for decades. The levels of abuse were at their worst in the 1960s. Two thirds of the victims were underage boys; one victim was only two when first attacked; over 100 girls were also raped and abused, and that abuse often continued into adulthood. As a result, the commission says, 13 people have committed suicide and another six have tried to kill themselves.
China haspostponed a planned session of diplomatic talks with Japan in protest at Tokyo's failure to free a Chinese trawler captain detained near disputed islands in the East China Sea on Tuesday. The Chinese foreign ministry expressed strongdiscontentat what it called Japan's ridiculous and illegal actions which, it said, violated international common sense.
Officials in California say they have completely contained a fire which was caused by a gas explosion near San Francisco's International Airport. At least four people were killed and dozens were injured after a gas pipeline exploded in a residential area in the town of San Bruno.
A clay cylinder dating from the time of one of Persia's greatest rulers, Cyrus the Great, has been returned on loan to Iran following aprolongeddispute with the British Museum in London. The cylinder describes how Cyrus conquered Babylon 2,500 years ago. In February, Iran threatened to cut ties with the British Museum in protest at what it called "politically motivated" delays in returning the cylinder. The cylinder has been put on temporary display in a museum in Tehran.
BBC News
巴基斯坦前军事统治者佩尔韦兹·穆沙拉夫(Pervez Musharraf)称他正在组建新的政党,试图在2013年举办的下届大选中回归。他跟我们的记者Owen Bennett Jones进行了对话。
现在居住在伦敦的佩尔韦兹·穆沙拉夫(Pervez Musharraf)几个月来一直提到自己回到巴基斯坦的可能性,但是现在,他的计划逐步确定下来。他说,他将竞选下届议会中的职位,之后,他希望能够成为总理或总统。记者问到,他已经得到了机会,是否应该给予其他人领导巴基斯坦的机会时,他说,上次,由于他身穿军装,在国际范围内缺乏合法性。“我不确定自己能否成为总统。但是我相信我获胜的可能性比较大。”
由于美国一个小教堂威胁焚烧可兰经引发穆斯林世界的持续抗议,奥巴马总统呼吁美国人保持对其他宗教信仰的尊重。发出该威胁的牧师琼斯现在说,他已经被说服放弃该计划。奥巴马说,焚烧宗教书籍违背了美国成立所依据的价值观。
“我认为,美国绝大多数人应该坚持对我们最有利的方面,对宗教信仰的包容,明白我们的敌人是谁,这绝对是非常重要的。我们的敌人是基地组织和他们的党羽,他们试图消灭我们,而且杀害的穆斯林人数超过其他任何人。”
在新闻发布会上谈及其他问题时,奥巴马总统承认,美国经济走出衰退的速度逐渐减缓。然而,他说,美国已经开始走出低谷,政府的每一项举措都是为了刺激经济增长。奥巴马还承认,他未兑现在执政的第一年关闭关塔纳摩监狱的承诺,但是他坚称关闭该监狱仍然是他的目标。
伊朗应一名高级官员表示,一年多以前从伊拉克非法进入伊朗境内而被囚禁的美国女子不会按照此前宣布的在周六获释。伊朗当局曾经表示Sarah Shourd将被释放。去年7月份,她和其他两名美国男子在伊拉克边境附近被捕,被控间谍罪。Jon Leyne报道。
这个消息将使Sarah Shourd的家人非常失望。据信她已经进入癌症早期,伊朗当局曾经表示,为了在开斋节来临之际向穆斯林世界表示友好,将把Sarah Shourd释放。但是现在,半官方的新闻机构引用德黑兰检控官的话称,由于司法程序尚未完成,释放被取消。这听上去非常不祥,似乎她的案件沦为伊朗统治者之间不断加剧的内部斗争的牺牲品。
BBC世界新闻。
对比利时进行的一份官方调查得出结论,几十年间,几乎每个主教区都发生了罗马天主教堂神父虐童事件。向数百名受害者听取了证词的调查委员会表示,他们对这些证词感到震惊。然而,天主教堂摆脱了大规模掩藏的罪名。Jonty Bloom报道。
该委员会的调查结果非常残酷。数百名受害者前来提供牧师,天主教学校教师和年轻的工作人员虐待儿童的可怕的细节,这些虐待罪行持续了几十年的时间。上世纪60年代,虐待达到最糟糕的水平。其中三分之二的受害者是未成年的男孩。其中一名受害者在第一次被虐待时只有两岁。该委员会表示,结果造成13人自杀,其他6人意图自杀。
中国推迟了原计划的与日本的外交对话,抗议周二中国渔船船长在中部东部海域双方有争议的岛屿被捕。中国外交部对日本荒唐的,不法的举动表示强烈不满。他们表示,日本的行为违反了国际常识。
旧金山国际机场附近的汽油爆炸引发大火,加利福尼亚官员表示目前他们已经控制了火势。San Bruno镇居民区一个天然气管道发生爆炸之后,至少4人死亡,数十人受伤。
可以追溯到波斯帝国统治者居鲁士时期的圆柱在经历了与大英博物馆长期的争议之后终于得以借展。该圆柱讲述了2500年前居鲁士政府巴比伦的过程。二月份,伊朗威胁切断与大英博物馆的关系,抗议他所说的“由于政治目的”推迟归还该圆柱。该圆柱目前暂时在德黑兰博物馆展览。
1.comeback n.恢复;复原;还嘴;退货
2.legitimacy n.合法(性);正统(性)
例句:The newspaper was directly challenging the government’s legitimacy.
报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
3.absolutely adv.完全地
例句:Lucy is absolutely devoted to her cats.
露西全身心地爱着她的猫。
<口>确实地;肯定地
例句:She absolutely embraced him.
她确实和他拥抱来着。
4.overwhelming adj.势不可挡的, 压倒一切的; 巨大的, 压倒性的;无法抗拒的
例句:The act was adopted by an overwhelming majority.
该法案以压倒多数通过。
5.stimulate vt.刺激; 激励
例句:The art course stimulated me.
艺术课激发了我的灵感。
6.precancerous a.癌症前期的
7.ominously adv.恶兆地;不吉利地
例句:The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car.
车轮搅起的石块,在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。
8.wrangling n.争吵;争辩
9.systematic adj.成体系的;系统的;有条理的;有计划有步骤的
例句:The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.
这个教师进行系统的教学工作。
10.postpone vt.延期; 推迟;展缓
例句:The mother postponed all other business to the task of smoothing her crying child.
母亲放下一切别的事情, 先去抚慰哭叫着的孩子。
They postponed leaving because of the weather.
他们因天气原因而延期离开。
11.discontent n.不满
例句:The present wave of strikes stems from discontent among the lower-paid.
当前的罢工浪潮起因于低工资雇员们的不满情绪。
12.prolonged adj.持续很久的,长时间的, 持久的, 长期的
例句:Government sources said there would be no prolonged pause in the war.
据官方消息,这场战争的时间不会长。
1.Pervez Musharraf, who now lives in London, has for some months been talking about the possibility of returning to Pakistan, but now his plans are firming up.
firm up把…安排得更稳妥, 牢靠; 使稳定
例句:I will return to Paris tomorrow, if I firm up my air ticket.
如果我能把飞机票订下来的话, 我打算明天回巴黎。
We should be able to firm up the agreement today.
我们今天应该能把协议确定下来。
2.Mr Obama said burning religious texts was contrary to the values on which the United States was founded.
be contrary to与…相反
例句:Your plan is contrary to mine.
你的计划与我的相反。
3.I think it is absolutely important now for the overwhelming majority of the American people to hang on to that thing that is best in us, a belief in religious tolerance, clarity about who our enemies are.
hang on to坚持下去
例句:Nothing was left for him to hang on to.
他已经没有什么东西可以指靠的了。
4.In other comments at his news conference, President Obama admitted the progress had been slow in pulling the US economy out of recession.
pull out of把……从……拉出来
例句:I don't think they are going to pull out of the deal at the last minute.
我认为他们不会在最后一分钟退出这笔交易。
5.However, he said the country was beginning to turn the corner and every initiative by his administration was aimed at stimulating growth.
turn the corner转危为安
6.Hundreds of victims came forward to give details of horrific abuse by priests, Catholic school teachers and youth workers that sometimes went on for decades.
come forward自告奋勇,自愿,主动提供(帮助或服务)
例句:Many activists have come forward.
涌现了大批积极分子。