BBC News with Jerry Smit
The Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne has said the mission to rescue 33 miners trapped underground for 70 days at the San Jose mine is going faster than expected. More than two-thirds of them have now been brought to the surface, and Mr Golborne said he expected the operation to go smoothly to the end.
"There haven't been any incidents. No situation or mishap during this process, and we've advanced much faster than we originally foresaw. This leads us to predict that this rescue operation could be finished over the course of the night, which would be in advance of our original predictions."
The 24 rescued men have been applauded by cheering crowds as they step from the escape capsule and then are embraced by relatives.
Among those rescued so far are both the youngest and oldest of those who have been trapped, 19-year-old Jimmy Sanchez and Mario Gomez aged 63. Mario Gomez said the experience had changed him.
"Sometimes you need for something to happen in your life to really reflect and understand that we only have one life, and one thing is that one needs to change. I changed. I'm a different man."
It's intended that the last miner to come up will be Luis Urzua, the shift supervisor.
The reports and pictures from the San Jose mine have gripped audiences around the world. Within Chile itself, the rescue has a much wider significance, as James Read reports.
The rescue of the miners is taking on the dimensions of a national epic in Chile, something that will define the country in the eyes of the world for years to come. The drama has come at a poignant time, just as Chile was celebrating 200 years of independence and months after it was hit by a devastating earthquake. The deliverance of the miners has fuelled confidence that the country can also recover from that disaster. President Pinera has spoken of the rescue as forging a new spirit of national unity.
And you can watch live pictures from the rescue site on our website bbc.com/chilemine.
In other news, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has addressed a huge rally of Lebanese Shia Muslims organised by Hezbollah. The event took place in the southern suburbs of Beirut. From there, Wyre Davies.
Here in southern Beirut, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was among friends, a huge rally of flag-waving Hezbollah supporters in the southern suburbs, listening to patriotic music and praising the Shia movement's clashes over the years with its avowed enemy Israel. Earlier, the Iranian president basked in similar scenes of adulation as he arrived at Beirut airport - his image and that of Iranian religious leaders flanking the road to the city centre. But many inside Lebanon and outside see this trip as nothing short of inflammatory, upsetting Lebanon's fragile political system.
World News from the BBC
The United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said there shouldn't be a rush to lift the ban on openly gay people serving in the military. He was speaking after a judge in California ruled that the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which means that service personnel can't admit to being homosexual for fear of dismissal, was unconstitutional.
The American actor and political activist George Clooney has called for the freezing of assets held by the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who's wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges. Mr Clooney, a UN messenger of peace, has just returned from a visit to Sudan. He told the BBC that freezing President Bashir's foreign bank accounts would be an effective way of putting pressure on the Sudanese government and that negotiators from North and South Sudan could benefit from an American-led diplomatic effort to resolve their differences before another war broke out.
"We were a big help in the 2005 peace agreement, so we know that there is a road map to doing this. At some point, you're going to have to sit down and negotiate a deal. Now you can do it after a bunch of people are killed, you can do it after a war, or you can do it now and we have an opportunity now."
A senior Nato official says international forces in Afghanistan have helped facilitate contact between the Taliban and the Afghan government. He suggested that safe passage have been granted to some Taliban representatives, including to the capital Kabul, in what were described as preliminary contacts between the two sides. The Afghan government had spoken previously of contacts with the insurgents.
The board of the English football club Liverpool has been meeting to discuss three offers that had been made to buy the team. Earlier on Wednesday, a judge ruled against the sides, current American owners who were trying to block its sale to the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. Two further bids for Liverpool have also emerged.
BBC News
智利矿业部长戈尔沃内(Laurence Golborne)表示,拯救圣何塞被困长达70天的33名矿工的任务比预期进展更快。现在,超过三分之二的被困矿工已经被带到地面,戈尔沃内说他认为营救任务一定能够顺利结束。
“目前为止,营救过程中没有出现任何事故。整个过程中未出现任何灾祸,整个过程已经比此前预测的提前。这让我们可以预测,营救工作可以在晚间结束,比我们最初的预测已经提前。”
24名已经获救的矿工走出救生舱时,在地面上等待的人群沸腾了,亲人向前与他们拥抱。
目前已经获救的人中包括最年轻的和最年长的,分别是19岁的Jimmy Sanchez和63岁的Mario Gomez。Gomez说,这段经历改变了他。
“有时候你一生中需要发生一些事,这样你才会明白,我们只有一次生命,我们必须做出改变。我已经发生了变化。我不再是过去的自己了。”
最后上井的将是领班厄祖亚(Luis Urzua)。
来自圣何塞煤矿的报道和画面引起了全世界观众的注意。在智利国内,这次营救有着更深远的意义。James Read报道。
对被困矿工的营救是智利民族史诗上一个重要的篇章,这会定义未来几年世界对智利的看法。这次事件发生在一个重要的时刻,智利正在庆祝独立200周年,几个月之后就发生了灾难性的地震。对矿工的解救增强了人们的信心,智利一定能够迅速从灾难中恢复。总统皮涅拉称,这次营救行动重新激起了智利民族团结的精神。
您可以在我们的网站bbc.com/chilemine上查看这次营救行动的现场直播视频。
其他方面的新闻。伊朗总统艾哈迈迪-内贾德向黎巴嫩真主党组织的黎巴嫩什叶派穆斯林集会发表讲话。该事件发生在贝鲁特南部郊区。Wyre Davies在现场报道。
这里是贝鲁特南部,内贾德正在南部郊区挥舞着旗帜的真主党支持者的围绕下倾听爱国歌曲,赞扬什叶派几年来与宿敌以色列的冲突中的表现。此前,伊朗总统抵达贝鲁特机场时也经历了同样的场景——带有他和伊朗宗教领袖图像的旗帜在通往市中心的道路两旁迎风招展。但是黎巴嫩内外许多人认为内贾德此行无异于煽风点火,使黎巴嫩原本脆弱的政治体系更加混乱。
BBC世界新闻。
美国国防部长罗伯特·盖茨表示,不应该仓促取消同性恋公开在军中服役的禁令。加利福尼亚一名法官裁决目前的“不问,不说”政策违反宪法规定之后,罗伯特发表了该讲话。目前的政策规定,服役人员不能公开承认自己是同性恋,否则将被解雇。
美国演员和政治活动家乔治·克鲁尼(George Clooney)呼吁冻结苏丹总统巴希尔的财产。目前,国际刑事法庭正在以战争罪指控对其进行通缉。克鲁尼是联合国和平信使,刚刚结束对苏丹的访问。他告诉BBC,冻结巴希尔的国外账户将是向苏丹政府施压的有效方法,来自南北苏丹的谈判人员将从美国领导的外交活动中获益,在另一场战争爆发之前解决争议。
“在2005年的和平协议中,我们发挥了重大作用。所以,我们了解这样做的路线图。在某种时刻,你们必须坐下来,协商解决方案。现在,许多人遇害之后,你们已经可以这样做。战争之后可以这样做。或者,现在也可以这样,我们现在就面临着一个机会。”
北约一名高级官员表示,驻阿富汗国际军队促进了塔利班与阿富汗政府的联系。他表示,已经向一些塔利班代表赋予了安全通道,包括通往首都喀布尔的通道。这被描述为双方之间的初步接触。阿富汗政府此前已经说过与反叛分子进行这种接触。
英国利物浦足球俱乐部董事会召开会议,就收购该俱乐部的三个提议进行讨论。周三早些时候,该俱乐部现在的美国老板试图阻止向红袜队老板出售该俱乐部,一名法官推翻了该决定。后来出现了收购利物浦俱乐部的两个新的竞标。
1.mishap n.轻微的事故;小的意外
例句:to prevent a mishap
防止灾祸
We reached home without mishap.
我们平安地回到了家。
2.reflect vt.表达; 反映
例句:Does this letter reflect how you really think?
这封信反映你的真实想法吗?
3.dimension n.方面, 部分
例句:There is another dimension to this problem which you haven't considered.
这个问题还有你尚未考虑到的另一方面。
规模, 程度
例句:What are the dimensions of this room?
这房间的面积是多大?
4.poignant adj.令人沉痛的;悲惨的;强烈的, 深刻的
例句:It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.
他在婚礼前一天去世了, 这尤其令人伤感。
5.deliverance n.救出,救助,释放,判决
例句:They prayed for an early deliverance from captivity.
他们为早日获释而祈祷。
6.patriotic adj.爱国的, 有爱国心的
例句:His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.
他的演说充满了爱国之情。
7.dismissal n.解雇, 免职, 开除
例句:wrongful dismissal
不公允的解雇
The dismissal of five workmen caused a strike.
开除五个工人引起了罢工。
8.facilitate vt.使便利, 减轻…的困难,促进;促使
例句:Tractors facilitate farming.
拖拉机使耕作便利。
9.preliminary adj.初步的, 预备的, 开端的
例句:They are taking preliminary steps in preparation for a possible war.
他们正在为应付一场可能的战争做初步的准备。
1.This leads us to predict that this rescue operation could be finished over the course of the night, which would be in advance of our original predictions.
in advance of在…之前, 超过
例句:She walked 2 yards in advance of her husband.
她走在她丈夫前面两码远的地方。
British Summer Time is one hour in advance of Greenwich Mean Time.
英国的夏季时间比标准时间快一小时。
2.It's intended that the last miner to come up will be Luis Urzua, the shift supervisor.
come up来; 走近
例句:While we were talking, a man came up.
我们正在谈话时, 一个人走了过来。
发生
例句:I expect something to come up soon.
我预料很快就要出事的。
升起; 长出来; 响起, 刮起
例句:The sky was dark blue and clear when the moon came up.
月亮出来时, 天空是深蓝色的, 非常晴朗。
3.But many inside Lebanon and outside see this trip as nothing short of inflammatory, upsetting Lebanon's fragile political system.
nothing short of完全相同
例句:To do that would be nothing short of suicide.
那样做无异于自杀。
4.He was speaking after a judge in California ruled that the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which means that service personnel can't admit to being homosexual for fear of dismissal, was unconstitutional.
for fear of害怕,恐怕,生怕,唯恐,以防
例句:Don't hide your sickness for fear of treatment.
不要讳疾忌医。
5.He told the BBC that freezing President Bashir's foreign bank accounts would be an effective way of putting pressure on the Sudanese government and that negotiators from North and South Sudan could benefit from an American-led diplomatic effort to resolve their differences before another war broke out.
benefit from通过…获益
例句:He thought he would benefit from going to school.
他认为上学对他有好处。