叙利亚政府称其军队已高度警戒，准备随时应对任何潜在的外来袭击。国家电视台引用叙利亚部长Wael al-Halqi的话，他称军队已手握扳机准备应对任何挑战。一些报道说叙利亚军队已把军事装备运至美国可能袭击的平民地区。BBC记者报道称居民已在储存食物。

You are listening to the World News from the BBC

您正在收听BBC全球资讯。

Thousands of protesters in Iraq have defied security threats staging demonstrations against what they say a generous privileges and benefits enjoyed by members of parliament. Iraqi politicians are entitled to pension payments of several thousand dollars a month far higher than other workers. The protesters also aired longstanding grievances about widespread corruption and the poor state of public services.

上千名伊拉克抗议者不惧安全威胁，举行游行以抗议他们所说的议会成员享受慷慨特权及好处。伊拉克官员有权每月得到几千美金的抚恤金，远高于其他工人。他们还不满于长期存在的贪污泛滥及落后的公共服务。

The family of an Indian student who died after being gang raped on a bus in Delhi last December say they are not satisfied with the sentence given to a teenager found guilty of her murder. The man who was 17 at the time was sentenced to three years. This is the maximum sentence he can receive under Indian law because of his age. The victim's father said the sentence was too lenient.