BBC在线收听下载:Vodafone千亿美元转让Verizon无线股份

France has released an intelligence report saying that the Syrian government launched last month’s attack on a Damascus suburb with a massive use of chemical agents. The report on the August 21st attack says technical analysis of rockets at the scene showed that they were adapted for chemical weapons. The report said the Syrian government bombed the area after the attack to destroy evidence. Chris Morris is in Paris.
法国已经发布情报报告，称上月叙利亚政府在袭击大马士革郊区时大量使用化学武器。这份8月21日的袭击报告称，对现场火箭的技术分析表明政府使用了化学武器。报告称，叙利亚政府在进攻后炮轰了该地区，目的是销毁证据。 Chris Morris在巴黎报道。

What’s clear from the French intelligence report is that it sets out previous occasions on which France believes chemical weapons have been used by the Assad regime. But it suggests that those were almost efforts just to spread fear whereas this attack on August 21st, it says, was at a level of sophistication that could only belong to the regime and was a massive use of chemical agents. It’s building the case a little bit further both the French public and for French politicians as well.
法国这份情报报告中明确指出的一点是法国认为阿萨德政权之前使用过化学武器的地方。但报告称，这种做法只是为了散布恐惧，称8月21日的袭击的技术很尖端，只能是政府实施的，且大量使用了化学物质。这份报告描述的情况使得法国公众和政治家们更深入了解其内情。

In an interview with a French newspaper, the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned that Western strikes against his country risked igniting a regional war. He said France would face repercussions if it became involved in such a military action. A leading American proponent of military action to topple President Assad, Senator John McCain, warned of the consequences if President Obama was unable to get military action approved in next week’s congressional debate.
在接受法国一家报纸的采访中，叙利亚总统巴沙尔•阿萨德曾警告说，西方国家对本国的打击会引发地区战争。他说如果法国介入军事行动，那么将面临反击。参议员约翰•麦凯恩是支持采取行动推翻总统阿萨德的主要倡导者，他警告如果总统奥巴马无法在下周的国会辩论中获得军事行动授权的后果。

“If the Congress were to reject a resolution like this after the president of the United States has already committed to action, the consequences would be catastrophic in that the credibility of this country with friends and adversaries alike would be shredded, and there would be not only implications for this presidency but for our future presidencies as well.”
“如果国会在美国总统已经承诺采取行动后否决该提议，那么后果将是灾难性的，美国在其盟友和敌人那里的信誉将会被毁掉，不仅总统本人将受到牵连，我们未来的总统也一样。”

The United Nations envoy to Syria has warned that the violence there is pushing the country towards genocide. Mokhtar Lamani told the BBC that the humanitarian situation was almost a catastrophe. But he said it was the growing sectarianism that was now really frightening.
联合国驻叙利亚使者警告称，那里的暴力是推动国家走向种族灭绝。Mokhtar Lamani告诉BBC，该国的人道主义局势已经是灾难性的，但他说渐长的宗派主义目前也很可怕。

“This huge movement of the population, leaving their villages according to what they were born. Even those, the defectors from the army, are not 100 per cent Sunni. You see from the other side also some allied actions. That’s people they have caught prisoner of their own group. It’s not a choice.”
“大批人员从出生的村庄离开，即使是军队的逃兵也不是100%的逊尼派，同时也可看到盟军行动，他们从自己阵营中抓捕囚犯，这并不是一种选择。”

UN envoy to Syria Mokhtar Lamani
联合国驻叙利亚使者Mokhtar Lamani。

In one of the biggest deals in corporate history, the British telecoms firm Vodafone has confirmed that it’s agreed to sell its stake in the US company Verizon Wireless for $130bn. Vodafone says it plans to use some of the proceeds to increase its investment in fourth-generation mobile technology. However, most of the money will be distributed to the company’s shareholders with British shareholders getting about $34bn.
英国电信公司Vodafone达成公司历史上最大的交易，该公司称已同意以1300亿美元的价格出售其美国公司Verizon无线的股份。 Vodafone称计划利用这一交易过程来增加对4G无线技术的投资。然而，大部分资金将分配给其股东，英国股东将得到约340亿美元。

World News from the BBC
The American endurance swimmer Diana Nyad has become the first person to swim from Cuba to the United States without a shark cage. The 64-year-old arrived at Key West in Florida 53 hours after she began her swim in Havana. Sarah Rainsford reports.
美国耐力游泳选手Diana Nyad成为不带鲨鱼笼从古巴游到美国的第一人，这位64岁的泳者从哈瓦那开始，经过53小时抵达佛罗里达的基韦斯特。Sarah Rainsford报道。

There were big crowds cheering on the beach in Florida as she took the last exhausted strokes of her record-breaking swim from Cuba. This was her fifth attempt at making the crossing. The first was over three decades ago and she used a shark cage then. This time there was a team of divers on hand to lure any sharks away. But there was no sign of them or of the huge storms, fierce currents and deadly box jellyfish that had foiled her previous efforts. The swimmer took a special face mask this time for extra protection. But the jellyfish were nowhere to be seen.
佛罗里达沙滩上大批人欢呼着，观看她从古巴创纪录的游泳的最后拼搏。这是她第五次尝试的横渡游泳，第一次是在30年前，当时她用了鲨鱼笼。这次有个潜水队帮助将鲨鱼引诱走，但看不出有鲨鱼出现，也没有大风暴、激烈的水流或能令她功亏一篑的致命箱水母。这位泳者这次用了专门的面罩来保护自己，结果根本没遇到水母。

Police in Britain are investigating claims that a British Airways pilot used his position to abuse children in African schools and orphanages. Simon Wood was found dead days before he was due to appear in a British court on unrelated charges of child abuse. Jane Peel reports.
英国警方调查称，传闻称一名英国航空公司飞行员利用职位虐待非洲学校和孤儿院的孩子。几天后原本要出席英国法庭的Simon Wood，接受虐童指控的审问，却被发现身亡。Jane Peel报道。

Simon Wood, who was 54, is alleged to have molested children during stopovers in Kenya after claiming he was carrying out charity work for British Airways. Lawyers say he had access to hundreds of vulnerable youngsters over many years. BA said it first became aware of the allegations when it received an anonymous letter in July. In a statement, the airline said it was shocked and horrified and had called in the police.
54岁的Simon Wood被控宣称为英国航空公司(BA)做慈善工作，然后在肯尼亚中途停留期间骚扰儿童。律师说多年来他骚扰了数百名青少年，BA称7月份收到匿名信后才得知该罪行。这家航空公司在声明中称对此感到惊恐，然后就报了警。

Residents of the central Indian city of Raipur have started naming potholes after prominent officials to protest against the poor conditions of the roads. They say the potholes in the city are so bad that drivers get injured when their cars hit them. Hindu priests performed rituals naming the biggest holes after the chief minister as well as ministers for housing and public works.
印度中部城市赖布尔的居民开始以显要官员的名字来称呼路面的坑坑洼洼，以表示对糟糕路况的不满。他们说该市的坑洼太糟了，司机开车撞人后自己也会受伤。印度教祭司进行仪式，用住房和公共服务部首席部长和部长们的名字来命名最大的坑洼。

BBC News