CNN 2011-02-24

After a day off to celebrate Presidents Day, CNN Student News is back! So am I. Thanks for spending some of your Tuesday with us. I'm Carl Azuz. Let's get to today's headlines.

Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, has a message for Libya: the violence must stop immediately. The situation has boiled over in that country with protesters and the government facing off against each other. That government is run by Moammar Gadhafi, who's been in power for 42 years. Libya is located in northern Africa. And it's literally¹ between two countries -- Tunisia and Egypt -- where long-time leaders have stepped down after recent protests.

During a speech on local TV, one of Gadhafi's sons made what seemed like an offer. He said, "we can speak rationally, we can spare the blood, we can stand all together for the sake of Libya." But he also added that if the protests continue, "forget about democracy, forget about reform... it will be a fierce civil war."

It's very hard for us to confirm some of the events that are reportedly happening in Libya. The government has a tight control on communications, and it hasn't responded to CNN's requests for access to the country. But based on the reports that are coming in, Don Lemon explains how we got to this point.

February 14th: Peaceful demonstrations², fueled through Facebook, are planned against Libya's leader, Moammar Gadhafi, who supported Mubarak before his exit.

February 16: About 200 demonstrators hit the streets in the coastal³ city of Benghazi to rally for human rights activist⁴ Fethi Tarbel. Police make few arrests.

February 17: State-run media outlets⁵ report 110 political prisoners are released, but the move doesn't stop calls for a "Day of Rage," meant for the fifth anniversary of a bloody⁶ protest that left 12 dead. Medical sources say seven die on this day after clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

February 18: Gadhafi supporters rally back in Tripoli. But on the coast in Benghazi, security forces reportedly attack anti-government backers numbering in the tens of thousands. Medical sources report 20 die and 200 are hurt.

February 19: Benghazi gets worse. Reports leak out of tear gas and bullets. A doctor says his hospital has seen at least 30 bodies. And Human Rights Watch tallies⁷ 84 dead over the last five days.

February 20: Benghazi boils over. Violence surges and protesters strike, demanding change. Eyewitnesses⁸ say demonstrators have taken the city and much of Tripoli. A ban on foreign reporters makes the claim difficult to confirm. But Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, warns the protesters to stop or, "blood will flow. Rivers of blood in all the cities of Libya."

We've done some reports about the potential long-term effects of the political protests happening in the Middle East. But there's another effect that some of you might be noticing right now: gas prices. According to a study that came out on Sunday, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.18. That's an increase of 5 cents from two weeks ago, and 55 cents from a year ago. The study says part of the reason for the increase is the tension in the Middle East, where a lot of the world's oil comes from. Experts predict that gas prices could keep going up over the next couple weeks.

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。