The Republican Party, which has the majority in Congress, is strongly opposed to tax rises, but Mr Obama said his re-election on Tuesday showed that the majority of Americans agreed with his approach.

在国会中占据多数席位的共和党强烈反对增税，但奥巴马说，周二再度当选表明大多数美国人支持自己的观点。

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that extreme weather caused by climate change has become what he called the new normal. Mr Ban was speaking ten days after a huge storm devastated parts of New York, where the UN is based.

联合国秘书长潘基文说，气温变暖引起的极端天气已经成为“常态”。就在十天前，联合国总部所在的纽约遭受了飓风的袭击。

The main Syrian opposition group meeting in exile has chosen a Christian former communist as its leader. He’s George Sabra, a former teacher. He said that his election as president of the Syrian National Council showed that the group was not sectarian. He also said the opposition needed more weapons. A BBC correspondent in Doha, in Qatar, where the election took place, says the Council will now come under pressure to join with other opposition forces, but Mr Sabra declined to give an immediate answer to that.

流亡的叙利亚主要反对组织已挑选了一名曾是共产党的基督徒担任领导人。此人就是做过教师的乔治·萨布拉，他说，自己当选为叙利亚全国委员会主席说明该组织的非宗派性质。他说，反对派需要更多武器。BBC驻卡塔尔多哈记者称，委员会面对接纳其他反对派的压力，但萨布拉拒绝立即作出回应。