BBC在线收听下载:通用汽车盈利创历史新高

BBC News with Kathy Clugston
A judge in the US has sentenced a Nigerian man to life imprisonment for attempting to blow up a passenger plane on Christmas Day in 2009. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab smuggled an explosive device on board in his underwear. Adam Brookes reports from Washington.
一名美国法官判处一名尼日利亚男子终身监禁，该男子曾在2009年圣诞节企图引爆一架客机。Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab在内衣下面偷带了一台引爆装置登机。Adam Brookes从华盛顿发回报道。

In 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded an airliner in the Netherlands bound for Detroit. On Christmas Day, as the plane approached its destination, he attempted to set off a bomb secreted in his underwear. It didn't go off properly. Abdulmutallab was badly burnt, but the passengers and plane were unharmed. At his trial last year, he pleaded guilty. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims to have trained and equipped him. During his sentencing, Abdulmutallab told the court that he was trying to avenge attacks on Muslims by the United States. He will go to prison for life.
在2009年，Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab在荷兰登上一架飞往底特律的客机。在圣诞节那天，当飞机到达目的地时，Abdulmutallab试图引爆内衣下的秘密炸弹，炸弹没有完全引爆。Abdulmutallab严重烧伤，但乘客们和飞机都安然无恙。他在去年的审判中认罪。阿拉伯半岛的基地组织宣称曾训练并为他提供装备。Abdulmutallab在审判中向法庭承认，他试图向袭击穆斯林的美国进行报复，他将面临终身监禁。

The United Nations General Assembly is meeting to vote on a Syria resolution similar to the one recently vetoed by Russia and China in the Security Council. Russia is unlikely to back the latest resolution, which is non-binding, and China is sending a top envoy to Damascus. Barbara Plett is at the United Nations.
联合国大会将就关于叙利亚的决议进行表决，这项决议与最近被俄罗斯和中国在安理会否决的那份决议类似。俄罗斯不可能会支持最新的决议，这是不具约束力的，而中国则向大马士革派遣一名高级特使。Barbara Plett在联合国报道。

The resolution condemns violence by the Syrian government. It also backs an Arab League plan for a political transition, which calls on President Assad to transfer power to his deputy. It's modelled on the Security Council resolution vetoed by Russia and China, and they are expected to vote no again. There isn't any veto in the General Assembly, but neither does it have the legal authority of the council. However, its 193 members do reflect world opinion, so a strong yes vote would give political and moral weight to the Arab plan.
这项决议谴责叙利亚政府的暴力行为，而且支持阿拉伯联盟有关政治过渡的计划，该计划呼吁呼吁阿萨德总统将权力移交给他的副手。这项决议与此前被俄罗斯和中国否决的安理会决议类似，而且两国还有可能再次否决。联大会议并未表示否决，但也没有对该表决赋予法律权威。然而，联合国的193个成员国确实也反映了全世界的舆论，所以这项阿拉伯计划将会得到政治和道义上的双重支持。

An investigation panel in Iraq has backed accusations that the country's Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi has been behind attacks on security officials and Shia pilgrims. The Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sought his arrest in December, triggering a political crisis between Shia and Sunni political factions. Mr Hashimi has taken refuge in the autonomous Kurdish region. He denies all charges.
伊拉克一个调查小组支持此前称伊拉克逊尼派副总统哈西米是安全官员和什叶派朝圣者遇袭案的幕后主使者的指控。什叶派总理Nouri al-Maliki去年12月被捕，由此引发什叶派和逊尼政治派间的政治危机。哈希米已在库尔德自治区获得避难权，他否认所有指控。

Moves are afoot in Germany to strip the President Christian Wulff of his immunity from prosecution. The prosecutor said there was an initial suspicion that Mr Wulff improperly accepted and granted benefits. He has denied any wrongdoing. With more details, here's Thomas Baecker.
德国采取行动剥夺总统Christian Wulff免于起诉的豁免权，检察官称初步怀疑Wulff收受过好处，而Wulff他否认有任何不法行为。Thomas Baecker报道。

Doubts about Mr Wulff's probity centre on his dealings with a film-producer friend. In 2006, the state of Lower Saxony guaranteed a loan of more than $5m for one of his friend's companies. It's alleged that in return Mr Wulff and his wife were invited on luxury holidays. The public prosecutor has now asked lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, to lift the president's immunity so a formal investigation can start. Mr Wulff has been hit by a series of scandals, among them benefiting from an improper arrangement for a personal loan and later trying to bully a newspaper editor not to run the story.
人们对Wulff廉洁性的质疑主要集中在他与一位电影制片人朋友的交易上。2006年，下萨克森州为他朋友的公司批准了一笔价值五百多万美元的贷款，据说 Wulff和妻子得到豪华假期作为回报。公诉人现已请求议会下议院西德连邦议会的议员们取消总统豁免权，以便可以开始正式调查。Wulff曾挪用政府资源资助私人活动，因还恐吓媒体编辑不许报道其丑闻，他一直陷于一系列的丑闻当中。

World News from the BBC
Figures released today have highlighted the startling return to health of the American car maker General Motors. The company, which the US government had to rescue from collapse in 2009, turned its highest ever profit in 2011. But as our business reporter Mark Gregory explains, not everything is well with the company.
今天公布的数据显示，美国汽车制造商通用公司健康运转带来了巨大收益。2009年，美国政府不得不挽救面临倒闭的公司。如今，通用在2011年创造了有史以来最高利润。但是，我们的商业记者Mark Gregory称，该公司并不是事事顺利。

The big picture is General Motors has made a remarkable recovery from near collapse three years ago. The company spent months in bankruptcy and only survived thanks to a multi-billion dollar bailout from the US government. But last year, armed with lower labour costs and shorn of many of its debts, GM roared back to financial health. However, investors are still finding things to worry about: sales were flat in the all-important North American market towards the end of last year.
通用汽车三年前濒临倒闭，如今，从大体上来看已显著恢复。该公司在破产边缘熬过几个月，多亏了美国政府数十亿美元的救助资金，才得以生存下来。但是去年，由于劳动力成本降低和债务削减，通用很快就恢复了财政健康。然而，投资者仍然发现需要担心的事情：重要的北美市场与去年年底的销量持平。

The European Commission has welcomed the Italian government's plan to make the Catholic Church there subject to property tax. The proposal could earn the state more than $1bn in much needed revenue. Here's Alan Johnston.
欧洲委员会对意大利政府决定对本国的天主教堂征收物业税表示欢迎。该政策将为该国增加10亿美元急需的收入。下面是Alan Johnston报道。

The new government's austerity programme has demanded sacrifices from many Italians, but at first the Catholic Church was spared. It continued to be free of tax on its huge amounts of property, not just its places of worship but also its buildings that house hotels, private clinics. The matter had even been taken up by the European Commission. It has been looking at whether the tax-exempt status of the Church's commercial properties amounted to a breach of EU laws aimed at guaranteeing free competition.
新政府的财政紧缩政策要求许多意大利人做出牺牲，但是最初没有将天主教堂包含在内。新政策仍不对天主教堂大量房产征税，这些免税的房产不仅包括教堂，还包括教堂家庭旅馆的建筑和私人诊所。欧洲委员会曾采取过这项措施，并关注教堂商业产权免税是否违反旨在保障自由竞争的欧盟法律。

Police in France are investigating the theft of a diamond-studded collar from a deceased poodle buried in a Parisian pet cemetery. Several years ago, Tipsy was interred by his wealthy masters with more than $10,000 worth of jewellery around his neck. The treasure vanished when the tomb was desecrated last week.
法国警方正在调查巴黎宠物墓地的盗墓案，盗墓者窃走离世狮子狗的一件镶钻项圈。几年前，小狗Tipsy被它富有的主人埋在此处，狗脖颈上还戴了一件价值超过10，000美元的珠宝。上周墓穴被毁后，该珠宝也消失了。

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