BBC News with Julie Candler
叙利亚警方使用催泪弹镇压反政府示威活动
Police in Syria have used tear gas and batons to break up crowds of anti-government protesters marching towards the centre of Damascus in a rare protest there. There’ve been other demonstrations in cities across Syria. Owen Bennett-Jones reports.
The protests were large and took place in tens of cities all over the country including Damascus. Many thousands of people marched towards the capital until they came face to face with a large deployment of security personnel determined to prevent them from reaching the centre of the city. Witnesses say the police beat the protesters with batons and used tear gas to disperse the crowds. There are also reports of live ammunition having been used in one Damascus suburb. Elsewhere, including in the city where the protest began—Deraa, the authorities are reported to have allowed the protest to occur without trying to break them up.
科特迪瓦大批女性被强奸 受害者年龄最小为7岁
Human rights groups say rape and sexual abuse have risen to alarming levels in Ivory Coast during the last few weeks as forces loyal to the President Alassane Ouattara battled for control. The aid charity, the International Rescue Committee, spoke to women who’d fled the country into neighbouring Liberia, where more than 100,000 refugees are seeking shelter. From Ivory Coast’s commercial capital Abidjan, John James reports.
Women who’ve fled the fighting in Ivory Coast have told aid workers stories of mass rape and abuse. In some cases, women have been imprisoned for up to a week as sexual slaves, brutally raped by numerous fighters before being released. Many others were killed. One woman was forced to watch the mass rape of her sister, who then died from her injuries. The youngest reported victim was seven years old.
尼日利亚总统选举即将举行
Final preparations are taking place in Nigeria for Saturday’s presidential election, the biggest such poll in Africa. The head of the African Union’s observer missi on said it had found some shortcomings but was confident that the electoral commission would resolve them. The current President Goodluck Jonathan is regarded as the clear frontrunner even though his People’s Democratic Party lost seats in parliamentary elections last week.
奥巴马称未能与议会就借债达成一致深表遗憾
President Obama has said that failure to agree with Congress to allow the US to continue a borrowing could plunge the world economy back into recession. He made the remark in an interview with the news agency Associated Press. Our economics correspondent Andrew Walker reports.
The United States government currently pays for a quarter of its spending with borrowed money, so the accumulated debt continues to rise and in May it’ll reach the maximum allowed by Congress over $40tr. If Congress refuses to increase the limit, it would severely disrupt government business. And if that continued long enough, it could have a negative impact on the economy in the US and unsettle global financial markets. However, neither the Republicans in Congress nor President Obama would want to be blamed for that, so they have a compelling incentive to reach an agreement.
World News from the BBC
北约拟增加战机轰炸利比亚 联盟未得出定论
A meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin has ended without a commitment for members of the alliance to send more strike planes to Libya. The Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the threat to Libyan civilians would not disappear while Colonel Gaddafi was still in power. But he reiterated that Nato was strictly conforming to the UN mandate to protect civilians.
克罗地亚民众关注前南刑庭宣判克罗地亚前将军
The Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor has described as “unacceptable” the war crimes convictions of two former generals regarded as war heroes in Croatia. Ante Gotovina, one of the most senior Croats to be brought to justice, was jailed for 24 years for atrocities against Serbs in 1995 during the breakup of Yugoslavia. His co-accused, Mladen Markac, received an 18-year sentence. The Croatian prime minister said her government would appeal against the judgements.
智利法庭允许对前总统进行开棺验尸
A court in Chile has ordered the exhumation of the remains of the former President Salvador Allende as part of an investigation into the cause of his death in 1973. The exhumation must be carried out in the next 30 days. James Read reports.
Salvador Alledne’s body was found in Chile’s presidential palace after it was attacked by troops and planes during the coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power. Witnesses at the time said he killed himself rather than surrender using a rifle given to him by his friend, the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. But some supporters of the left-wing leader think he may have been killed by soldiers. A new investigation into his death was launched in January. It’s one of hundreds of unresolved human rights cases dating back to military rule when thousands of Chileans were tortured and killed.
美国强烈飓风至少使9人死亡25人受伤
Severe storms in the United States have killed at least nine people. Strong winds caused extensive damage with the electricity pilings being torn down in the state of Arkansas. At least 25 people were injured when a tornado flattened buildings and toppled trees in the small town of Tushka, Oklahoma.
BBC News
brutally adv. 残忍地;野蛮地;兽性地
He is extremely and brutally honest.
他有些近乎极端地、残忍地诚实。
plunge n. 投入;跳进
vi. 投入;跳进;陷入
Forecasters don't expect an outright plunge in California prices.
预测者不希望加州的房价疯狂跳水。
reiterate vt. 重申;反复地做
To reiterate, the Tag name must be unique.
再次重申,标签名必须是唯一的。
conviction n. 定罪;确信;[法]证明有罪
Most of all, Mr Obama needs to fight this war with conviction.
最重要的是,奥巴马总统应该带着坚定的信念来打这一仗。
atrocity n. 暴行;凶恶,残暴
People were annoyed by his atrocity.
他的暴行激怒了人们。
exhumation n. 发掘;尸体发掘;掘尸
Nevertheless, to quiet public opinion an exhumation order was granted.
然而,要平定公众意见就必须准许尸体发掘的工作。
cause of :起因;属…原因
We are investigating the cause of the accident.
我们正在调查意外事件的原因。
carry out :实行,执行,贯彻,进行(到底);开展:;完成;实现
He would let her manage everything and carry out all her notions.
他会让她安排一切,实现她所有的想法。
at the time :在那时,那时候
At the time, printing itself was not a new idea.
在当时,印刷术本身并不能算是一个新想法。
Severe storm :暴风;强烈风暴
The sky lightened after the severe storm.
狂风暴雨之后天空变亮了。
tear down v. 扯下;诋毁;拆卸;逐条驳斥
So history reminds us that walls can be torn down.
所以历史提醒我们那些墙是可以被推倒的。