BBC News with Stewart Macintosh.
Workers at two French oil refineries have voted to end their strike against government plans to raise the state pension age. Employees are also returning to work at a third refinery shut down in a separate dispute. However, nine other refineries are still on strike. Here’s Hugh Schofield.
At two refineries owned by Esso, one in the north and one in the south, staffs have chosen to go back to work. A third refinery in the east, which was shut in a totally separate dispute, is also reopening. Further good news for President Sarkozy is that all of the country’s 200 or so fuel supply depots are also now cleared of pickets and operating normally. It means that the threat of the country grinding to a hole for lack of oil has more or less disappeared.
Anti-fraud police in Nigeria have issued a list of more than 100 people who they say should not be allowed to run for political office. The list includes politicians, bankers, civil servants and businessmen. The anti-fraud squad, the EFCC, said those on the list for being prosecuted for alleged corruption and it urged political parties not to endorse them as candidates in next year’s elections.
The United Nations has warned Haiti to prepare itself for a potential spread of the cholera outbreak, which has killed more than 250 people. A senior UN official Nigel Fisher said it would be irresponsible to plan for anything other than a considerably wider outbreak. However, he said there were no new signs the outbreak was spread. Laura Trevelyan reports.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti has told the BBC his organization is still preparing for the possibility of a national outbreak of cholera. Nigel Fisher said that while the epidemic may be stabilizing in the Artibonite region, it could still spread across the country. And he hoped people weren’t being complacent. Cholera experts have expressed surprise that the speed with which Haiti’s government moved to say the epidemic’s stabilizing, given the possibility that it could take hold in the crowded capital Port-au-Prince.
The youngest inmate of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp has pleaded guilty to killing an American soldier in Afghanistan eight years ago when he was 15 and was still technically a juvenile. The detainee, Omar Khadr, who is a Canadian citizen, was appearing before a military tribunal of the camp. He’s also admitted planting roadside bombs.
The US says it remains suspicious of Iran’s intentions in making cash payments to the government of Afghanistan. The State Department spokesman P J Crowley said Washington did not question Iran’s right to provide financial assistance or Kabul’s right to accept it, but he added that Tehran had a track record of meddling in its neighbor’s affairs.
We remain skeptical of Iran’s motives, given its history of playing a destabilizing role with its neighbors. We hope that Iran will take responsibility to play a constructive role in the future of Afghanistan.
World News from the BBC.
An official report commissioned in Germany has revealed that members of the foreign ministry were much more actively involved in the Nazi Holocaust than previously thought. The report is due to be published on Thursday. Steve Evans reports.
One of the authors said the German foreign ministry collaborated with the Nazi’s violent politics and especially assisted in all aspects of the discrimination, deportation, persecution and genocide of the Jews. The historians discovered the travel expenses of one senior diplomat who went to Serbia in 1941 to help organize the killing of Jews. The expenses form said simply "Liquidation of Jews in Belgrade".
The head of the Italian carmaker Fiat has provoked an angry reaction by saying the company would be better off without Italy. Sergio Marchionne cited Italy’s poor record of labor efficiency and industrial competiveness. He said that Fiat’s current profits were more than $2billon but none came from Italy.
A judge in Italy has ruled the value of life of an Albanian workman who died in an industrial accident is worth ten times less than that of an Italian who might die in a similar incident. Each of the parents of the dead Albanian worker was awarded $45,000 in compensation. Here’s David Willey.
The sentence caused some astonishment in legal circles, as the award was based on the earning power of workers in Albania, not in Italy. The judge said the deceased worker’s parents will not entitle to unjustified enrichment. If they had been resident in Italy, they would receive some about 10 times greater. If the judge’s decision is not overturned by a higher court, this will mean that Italian employers will be encouraged to hire workers from poorer countries in preference to those from rich nations.
And that’s the BBC News.
法国两家炼油厂的工人进行投票,决定是否停止反对政府提高退休年龄计划的大罢工。另外一家因意见分化而关闭的炼油厂工人也重新回到工作岗位。然而,另外九家炼油厂仍然在罢工。Hugh Schofield报道。
在法国Esso拥有的分处南部和北部的两家炼油厂,职员们选择返回工作。东部另外一家因意见完全分化而关闭的炼油厂也已经重新开放。对于萨科齐总统来说,更好的消息是,全国所有大约200家燃料仓库均已清除了路障,开始正常营业。这意味着这个国家因燃料不足而面临的威胁已经或多或少的消失。
尼日利亚反欺诈法庭发布了一份100多人的名单,他们认为这些人不能竞选政治办公室的职位。名单上的人包括政客,银行家,公务员和商人。
经济金融犯罪委员会(EFCC)表示,名单上的人因腐败指控而被起诉,他们督促各党派在明年的选举中不要提名他们为候选人。
联合国警告海地做好准备应对可能出现的霍乱大爆发。现在霍乱已经导致250多人死亡。联合国高级官员Nigel Fisher表示,如果不计划好应对可能出现的大爆发,其他任何行为都是不负责任的。然而,他表示,没有任何新的迹象表明疫情正在蔓延。Laura Trevelyan报道。
这位联合国驻海地人道主义协调员告诉BBC,他的组织仍然在为霍乱全国范围内爆发的可能性做准备。Nigel Fisher说,Artibonite省的情况可能已经稳定下来,但是在全国其他地方仍有可能蔓延。他希望人们不要存在自满情绪。由于政府表示,他们已经控制住人群拥挤的首都太子港的疫情。霍乱专家已经对海地政府宣布疫情已经稳定下来的速度之快表示惊讶。
关塔纳摩湾监狱最年轻的囚犯承认八年前他曾在阿富汗杀害一名美国士兵,当时他只有15岁,从学术上讲仍然是青少年。这名未判决的囚犯是加拿大公民,在军事法庭接受判决。他还承认自己曾经设置路边炸弹。
美国表示,他们仍然怀疑伊朗向阿富汗政府支付现金的意图。国务院发言人P J Crowley表示,华盛顿并不质疑伊朗提供金融救助和喀布尔接受救助的权利,但是他补充说,伊朗一向有干预邻国事务的记录。
由于伊朗破坏邻国稳定的历史,我们仍然怀疑伊朗的动机。我们希望伊朗能够担负起责任,为阿富汗的未来发挥建设性的作用。
BBC世界新闻。
德国委托进行的一份官方报道披露,外交部官员在纳粹大屠杀中的活动比此前认为的更加活跃。该报告将于周四发表。Steve Evans报道。
其中一名作者表示,德国外交部与纳粹暴力政治相勾结,帮助了对犹太人的所有的歧视,驱逐,迫害和种族大屠杀行为。历史学家发现了一名高级外交官的旅行消费。他与1941年前往塞尔维亚,帮助组织了对犹太人的杀戮。费用记录清楚地标注“在贝尔格莱德清除犹太人”。
意大利汽车制造商菲亚特CEO声称如果没有意大利,该公司的状况可能更好,此举引发了愤怒的回应。塞尔吉奥·马尔基翁(Sergio Marchionn)引用了意大利极低的劳动效率和行业竞争为例。他说,菲亚特现在的利润超过20亿美元,但是全都不是来自意大利。
意大利一名法官裁决,在工业事故中死亡的阿尔巴尼亚人的身价还不到在同样的事故中遇难的意大利人的十分之一。死亡的阿尔巴尼亚工人的父母各获得45,000美元的赔偿。David Willey报道。
该判决在司法界引起了惊讶,赔偿是基于阿尔巴尼亚工人的收入水平,而不是按照意大利的水平。法官说,去世的工人的父母无权通过这种方式致富。如果他们是意大利居民,他们可以获得十倍的赔偿。如果该法官的判决不被高级法院推翻,这将意味着意大利雇主将被鼓励雇用来自贫困国家的工人,而不是发达国家的工人。
1.grind v.压迫; 折磨
例句:Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders.
奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
2.prosecute vt.检举、告发某人; 对某人提起公诉
例句:He was prosecuted for theft.
他因偷窃而被告发。
3.endorse vt.<商>在(尤指支票的)背面签字;背书
例句:to endorse a cheque
背书支票
赞同,认可,支持(意见,活动,某人等)
例句:to endorse someone’s opinion
赞成某人的意见
4.complacent adj.自满的, 自鸣得意的
例句:The winner's complacent smile annoyed some people.
胜利者洋洋自得的微笑使某些人深感厌恶。
She was complacent about her achievements.
她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。
5.technically adv.严密地来说;严格按照法律地
例句:Prize-fighting remained popular, though technically illegal, until the 1880s.
在19 世纪80 年代以前,职业拳击比赛虽然严格来说是不合法的,但一直很受欢迎。
The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.
严格地说,西红柿是一种水果,尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。
6.meddle vi.干涉, 干预(他人事务)
例句:I hope he doesn’t try to meddle in my affairs.
我希望他不来干预我的事情。
7.commission vt.委任, 委托
例句:He commissioned a statue of his wife.
他请人制作他妻子的雕像。
I was commissioned (as a) general in 1944.
我于1944年被任命为将军。
8.collaborate vi.合作,协作,合伙,勾结
例句:collaborate with an enemy
和敌人勾结
9.astonishment n.惊讶, 惊奇
例句:To our astonishment, they arrived on time.
使我们惊奇的是, 他们准时来到了。
1.Employees are also returning to work at a third refinery shut down in a separate dispute.
shut down完全关闭,倒闭,停止运转
例句:The shop has shut down because of lack of trade.
那商店因生意萧条而停业。
2.It means that the threat of the country grinding to a hole for lack of oil has more or less disappeared.
more or less差不多, 几乎
例句:I've more or less finished reading the book.
我差不多已经把这本书全看完了。
大约
例句:It took more or less a whole day to paint the ceiling.
粉刷天花板用了将近一整天的时间。
3.A senior UN official Nigel Fisher said it would be irresponsible to plan for anything other than a considerably wider outbreak.
other than除了
例句:Does anybody other than yourself know this?
除你本人之外还有别人知道这事吗?
She has no close friends other than him.
除了他以外她没有好朋友。
4.The head of the Italian carmaker Fiat has provoked an angry reaction by saying the company would be better off without Italy.
be better off更富裕;生活更好
例句:We are much better off now.
我们现在的生活好多了。
Today's pensioners are better off than they used to be.
现在靠养老金生活的人经他们原来生活要更好些。
后接without,意为“没有……生活反而更好”
例句:We'd be better off without them as neighbours.
要是没有他们这样的邻居,我们会过得更愉快。
5.The judge said the deceased worker’s parents will not entitle to unjustified enrichment.
entitle to赋予…做(某事); 拥有…的权利
例句:This ticket entitles you to a free seat at the concert.
持这张票可以免费听音乐会。
I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.
我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。