BBC News with Michael Powles
The head of world football's governing authority Fifa says he wants to set up a body to investigate allegations of corruption at his organisation. His comments come several weeks after Fifa suspended two members of its executive committee over allegations that they'd accepted bribes. Both men denied any wrongdoing. Here's Imogen Foulkes.
Sepp Blatter says he wants to ensure there is no corruption at Fifa, but his plan for a new committee authorised by the very organisation which stands accused of corruption and proposed by Mr Blatter himself, who will stand for re-election as Fifa's president in June, is unlikely to be enough to calm the controversy. Sporting associations like Fifa are largely exempt from Swiss laws against corruption. In the wake of the bribery allegations, Switzerland's sports minister has announced his own inquiry into how these associations are run.
Pakistan's coalition government has lost its parliamentary majority, raising fears about its survival. The loss of the MQM's support for the coalition opens up the possibility of its collapse. The MQM spokesman Muhammad Anwar told the BBC they had no option but to quit the government.
"Governance was extremely bad, the corruption was rampant. There was no law and order situation. We just could not continue in the government unless they are corrected."
Coptic Christians in Egypt have attended Mass at a church in Alexandria, a day after 21 people were killed there in a bomb attack. The service was marked by grief and anger. Many accused the Egyptian government of not doing enough to prevent attacks on Christians by Muslim militants.
One hundred prominent people in Germany have urged Iran to free two German journalists jailed in the northwestern city of Tabriz. The appeal was published by the German weekly Bild am Sonntag, which employed the two journalists. They were arrested in October as they investigated a story about a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery. Iran says they entered the country on the wrong kind of visas. From Berlin, Steve Evans reports.
A string of German ministers and opposition politicians joined with sporting stars like Boris Becker and a string of business leaders like the chief executives of Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom and Daimler in calling for the release of the journalists. Germany is now trying to raise publicity for the case, but the situation of the two is now complicated by the wider standoff between Iran and Western countries over any plans it may have to develop nuclear weapons.
An earthquake has struck central Chile. The quake with a magnitude of 7.2 had its epicentre just off the Pacific coast, near the city of Temuco. So far, there are no reports of damage or casualties. Last February, a much bigger quake struck the same region, killing more than 400 people and causing massive destruction.
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Floodwater has continued to rise in the Australian state of Queensland, with the city of Rockhampton near the coast the latest to be struck by surging river levels. The Fitzroy River has now swamped large parts of the city, and the main roads to the south and west have been cut off.
One of Russia's most prominent opposition politicians, the former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been sentenced to 15 days in jail after being arrested at a demonstration in Moscow. He was convicted of disobeying police orders at the rally which hadn't been authorised. Mr Nemtsov has repeatedly criticised the Russian government's record on human rights and democracy.
South Korea is introducing stricter rules to combat illegal whaling. Although commercial whale hunting is banned, South Korea allows the trading of whales that are found dead, and critics have suggested this loophole is being exploited. Here's Abigail Mawdsley.
From Monday, all fishermen must report to the police immediately if they find a dead whale washed ashore or tangled in their nets. They'll have to provide DNA samples for testing and will only be allowed to sell the whales' meat and body parts after a full investigation into how the animal died. The rules should make it much harder for people to pretend that whales have died accidentally. In another change, the dead whales may only be processed at government-approved plants.
Wildlife officials in the United States are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to fall dead from the sky over a small town in Arkansas. The birds began dropping over the town of Beebe just before midnight on New Year's Eve, piling up on roofs and gardens. Wildlife experts said they may have been hit by lightning, high-altitude hail or may have died by stress caused by New Year's Eve fireworks.
Full details of the World Service News could be found at bbc.news. That's the BBC News.
1.ensure vt.确保, 担保
例句:I will ensure that the car arrives by six o'clock.
我保证汽车六点钟以前到。
2.rampant adj.( 坏事) 泛滥的;猖獗的
例句:Sickness was rampant in the rural areas of this country.
这个国家的农村地区疾病流行。
3.publicity n.公众的注意, 众所周知
例句:The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.
这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
4.complicate vt.使复杂化
例句:These events will greatly complicate the situation.
这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。
5.standoff n.僵持, 僵局
6.magnitude n.巨大,重大,重要
7.swamp vt.淹没; 沉没
例句:Heavy rainfalls swamped the lowlands.
大雨淹没了低地。
8.prominent adj.杰出的, 著名的, 卓越的
例句:He is a prominent physician.
他是位著名的医生。
9.disobey vt.vi.不服从, 不顺从
例句:Soldiers must never disobey.
军人永远要服从。
10.loophole n.漏洞, 空子
例句:They tightened the loopholes in those acts.
他们堵住了那些法案中的漏洞。
1.In the wake of the bribery allegations, Switzerland's sports minister has announced his own inquiry into how these associations are run.
in the wake of尾随,紧跟,仿效
例句:Plague came in the wake of earthquake.
地震之后紧跟着就是瘟疫。
2.The loss of the MQM's support for the coalition opens up the possibility of its collapse.
open up展现; 揭示
例句:The State Council are examining possibilities which are opening up in local affairs.
国务院正在考查开放地方事务的可行性。
3.The birds began dropping over the town of Beebe just before midnight on New Year's Eve, piling up on roofs and gardens.
pile up(使)成为一堆; 堆积
例句:The clouds are piling up.
云愈积愈密。
He piled up fallen leaves in a corner of the yard.
他把落叶堆积在院子一角。
1.Sepp Blatter says he wants to ensure there is no corruption at Fifa, but his plan for a new committee authorised by the very organisation which stands accused of corruption and proposed by Mr Blatter himself, who will stand for re-election as Fifa's president in June, is unlikely to be enough to calm the controversy.
参考翻译:布拉特(Sepp Blatter)表示,他希望确保国际足联内部没有腐败现象。但是他计划成立新的委员会的计划不可能平息争议,因为该委员会由被控腐败的国际足联本身领导,而且由将要在六月份竞选主席连任的布拉特提议。
结构分析:这句话是由BUT连接的表示转折的句子。but后面的句子主干是:his plan is unlikely to be enough to calm the controversy.for a new committee是介词短语作后置定语,表明什么样的计划。authorised by the very organisation,and proposed by Mr Blatter himself都是过去分词作后置定语,修饰committee。which stands accused of corruption是定语从句,修饰organisation。who will stand for re-election也是定语从句,修饰Mr Blatter himself。
2.A string of German ministers and opposition politicians joined with sporting stars like Boris Becker and a string of business leaders like the chief executives of Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom and Daimler in calling for the release of the journalists.
参考翻译:德国一些部长和反对派政客,以及贝克尔(Boris Becker)等体育明星, 德意志银行,德国电信和戴姆勒的总裁等商业领袖一起呼吁释放这两名记者。
结构分析:这句话的主干是:A string of German ministers and opposition politicians joined with....后面列举出一些体育明星和商业领袖。in calling for表明他们的具体行为。