澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-05-19

 A report by the Australian Strategic Institute says Indonesia's prisons have become incubators for terrorists. The assessment¹ is based on in-depth interviews conducted with 33 convicted terrorists. The report's author, Dr Carl Ungerer, says some would-be terrorists who would want to bomb Western targets will soon be freed. 

 

The United States has just imposed sanctions on Syria's president and six of his top aides. It's the first time President Bashar al-Assad has been specifically targeted. US President Barack Obama says Syria must stop the violence and begin a transition to democracy. 

 

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is denying there's any misunderstanding with Malaysia over that asylum² seeker deal. The country's home affairs minister has told a local newspaper that Malaysia won't accept any asylum seekers from Australia until that deal is finalised.  But Mr Bowen insists recent arrivals are part of those negotiations³. 

 

An inquest into December's asylum seeker boat tragedy off Christmas Island has heard harrowing triple-0 emergency calls from a man on board the doomed⁴ boat just minutes before it crashed into rocks. The man became increasingly distressed⁵ as he tried to make himself understood. Other passengers, including children, could be heard screaming in the background. 

 

And the Queen has arrived at Dublin Castle for a banquet where she'll deliver the only public speech of her Irish trip. Earlier, she visited Croke Park sports stadium where British troops killed 14 people 91 years ago. The Queen also laid a wreath at Ireland's War Memorial to honour the 50,000 Irish soldiers killed in World War I.

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

5 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。