经济学人下载:本周政治要闻

Politics this week
本周政治要闻

America's Senate Intelligence Committee released a controversial report into the CIA's interrogation techniques, which revealed some more details about the torture of suspected terrorists after the September 11th 2001 attacks, and claimed that the CIA had not properly briefed Congress. Some prisoners were subjected to near drownings, week-long periods of sleep deprivation and “rectal hydration”.
美国参议院情报委员会就中情局虐囚一事，发布了有争议的报告。根据报告内容，911袭击之后，中情局捕获一些嫌犯，并对他们施以酷刑。报告公布的细节较以往更为详尽，例如提及一些囚犯几近溺死，或被剥夺睡眠长达数周，以及遭到“直肠水化。”报告还说中情局在此事上对国会有所隐瞒。

American special forces attempted to free two men, an American and a South African, who were being held captive by the local al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen. Both hostages were apparently shot by their kidnappers in the melee and died from their injuries.
美国特种部队试图解救两名被也门基地组织控制的人质，他们分别来自美国和南非。两名人质在混战中被匪徒击中，并伤重不治。

Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress unveiled a $1 trillion budget bill they have crafted to keep most of the government running until September 2015. As well as laying out the spending commitments to federal departments, the bill also expands the amount that individual donors can give to political parties. It also blocks the legalisation of marijuana in Washington, DC, that voters in the city approved last month.
美国国会中的两党领袖公布了一份一万亿美元的预算方案，可使政府大部分机构运行至2015年9月。该方案还扩张了个人政治献金的上限。同时它否决了华盛顿特区一项关于大麻的立法；后者于上个月在特区得到了批准，从而提交到国会。

As expected, Bill Cassidy won a Senate seat in Louisiana for the Republicans, beating Mary Landrieu, the Democratic incumbent, by 56% to 44% in a run-off election and leaving her party without any senators or governors in the Deep South. The Republicans will have a 54-46 majority in the Senate when the new Congress convenes in January.
在补选中，比尔·卡西迪不出所料的击败了现任的民主党参议员玛丽·兰德里欧，为共和党赢得了路易斯安那州的参议员席位，得票率为56%对44%。这样一来，民主党在美国南方腹地，再无参议院及州长。明年一月新一届国会就任后，共和党将占据其中54席，而民主党只余46席。

The bankruptcy under which Detroit has operated for over a year was lifted following the approval of its debt-restructuring plan. This allows the mayor and council to take back control from the city's emergency manager. The city still faces many problems and a commission will oversee its finances for years to come.
底特律在一年多之前破产以后，其债务重组计划终于在近日获批，从而解除了破产状态。这样一来，市长与地方议会就从托管人手中取回了管理权。不过该市依旧问题多多，并且在未来数年内，其财务状况要接受一个委员会的监督。

Mission accomplished?
任务完成？

After 13 years in Afghanistan, NATO-led combat missions formally ended with a flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul, the capital. About 13,000, mainly American, troops will remain to train Afghan forces, and to help them in combat operations with air support and medical evacuation.
伴随着首都喀布尔的一次降旗仪式，北约在阿富汗的持续了13年战斗任务，终于正式落幕了。约一万三千名士兵（大部分是美国人）将留下训练阿富汗军队，以及在战斗中进行空中支援与医疗后送。

Police in Hong Kong began clearing the main camp set up by demonstrators more than ten weeks ago to call for free elections in the Chinese territory. Some protesters wanted to maintain their occupation of the area to press their demands, but others said it was time to leave.
“占中”开始70多天后，香港警方开始清除示威者的营地。一些抗议者试图抵抗，以继续争取在这片中国领土上实现自由选举；但其余的人则认为应告一段落了。

Naming and shaming
点名批评

Brazil's National Truth Commission named 377 people it says are responsible for 434 murders and disappearances during the military regime that ruled from 1964 to 1985. About 100 of the culprits are still alive, but under an amnesty law they cannot be prosecuted. Many fewer people were murdered by Brazil's dictatorship than were killed by other Latin American regimes, such as those of Argentina and Chile.
巴西国家真相委员会认为，巴西军事政权存续的1964至1985年，共有434人死于谋杀或失踪。委员会同时列举了377人的名单，称他们应当负责。其中约有100人依然在世，但由于一项大赦法令，他们不受起诉。其他拉美国家（例如阿根廷和智利）的独裁政权暴行更甚。

The United States Congress voted in favour of sanctions targeting members of Venezuela's government. Officials who violated the rights of anti-government demonstrators during last February's protests could be denied visas and have their assets frozen. The Obama administration, which had opposed sanctions, recently signalled that it might agree to them.
美国国会投票赞成制裁委内瑞拉部分政府成员，因为去年二月，委内瑞拉曾爆发反政府游行示威，而上述政府成员侵犯了示威者的权利。他们将被拒绝签证，资产也将遭到冻结。奥巴马政府原本反对制裁，如今又说再考虑考虑。

Uruguay accepted six inmates freed by the United States government from the detention centre in Guantánamo Bay. They had been imprisoned for 12 years for alleged links to al-Qaeda but were never charged. Uruguay's president, Jose Mujica, had been imprisoned by the country's military regime.
乌拉圭接纳了美国政府在关塔那摩湾监狱释放的六名犯人。据称这几人与基地组织有关但并没受到起诉而被监禁长达12年之久。何塞·穆希卡曾被乌拉圭军政府囚禁。

Paranoia and power
对权力的偏执

Robert Mugabe, who has been president of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, sacked his vice-president, Joice Mujuru, and seven ministers in a purge that cleared the way for Emmerson Mnangagwa, the hardline former justice minister, to become his likeliest successor. Ms Mujuru denied accusations of corruption and plotting to kill Mr Mugabe.
罗伯特·穆加贝，自1980年津巴布韦独立后任该国总统。为了能让他心仪的强硬的前司法部长艾默生·姆南加古瓦成为他的后继者，在一次肃清行动中他解雇了副总统乔伊斯·穆朱鲁，和七名部长。但是副总统乔伊斯·穆朱鲁对于贪污的控告没有认罪，而且谋划杀死总统穆加贝。

A French hostage held by jihadists in Mali was freed after reportedly being swapped for two prisoners held in jail in Mali. He had been kidnapped in 2011 along with another Frenchman who was killed by his captors, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, in 2013.
马里的圣战者释放了一名法国人质，据报道以交换两名马里监狱的囚犯为条件。该人质同另外一名法国人一同在2011年被抓，后者在马格里布的基地组织被俘虏者杀害。

A senior Palestinian official attending a protest against land confiscations in the West Bank died after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers. Medical staff said that Ziad Abu Ein had inhaled tear gas; video showed him being grabbed by the neck by a member of the security forces. The Israeli army said it would investigate.
巴勒斯坦一名高级官员在抵制约旦河西岸征地示威中，与以色列士兵发生冲突后去世。医院工作人员说Ziad Abu Ein吸入催泪瓦斯；监控显示他被违和警力扼住脖子。以色列军队说会进行调查。

December surprise
12月之喜

Greece set off new jitters in the euro zone when it brought forward its presidential election to later this month. The markets fretted that if parliament fails to choose a president, a general election must be held, which many fear would be won by Syriza, an anti-austerity party. The Athens stockmarket fell by 13% and yields on Greek bonds soared.
希腊又在欧元区激起了波浪，这个月末将进行总统选举。市场担心如果议会不能选举一个够资格的总统，就会举行大选。但是大家担心支持货币宽松政策的Syriza政党赢得大选。雅典股市下跌13个百分点，但是希腊的债券收益增加了。

Ukraine's government staged a “day of silence”, a renewed ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels. The hope is that this may be a prelude to renewed peace talks. Previous ceasefires have repeatedly been broken.
乌克兰政府提出“平和日”，与亲俄分子停火。希望这可能是新一轮和平会谈的前奏。之前的停火无一不停的被破坏。

Germany's Christian Democrats re-elected Angela Merkel as their leader without any opposition. She has led the party for 14 years.
没有反对票的情况下，德国基督民主党重推举安吉拉·默克尔为他们党首。她已经领导该党长达14年之久。

The French cabinet gave its approval to a package of liberalising measures known after the new economy minister as the loi Macron. But the law, which will have a hard time gaining parliamentary approval, has already been watered down by the government.
法国内阁对新任经济部长里外·马克内提出的自由化一揽子计划表示支持。但是要想获得一会得支持还有很长的路要走，而且政府已经对该提案泼了凉水。

A last-minute deal was reached in the European Union on its 2015 budget, conceding a slight budgetary increase to placate the spendthrift European Parliament.
欧盟最终定下了2015年财政预算，只退让了一点，稍微增加财政预算，为了遏制欧盟议员的挥霍无度。

And finally…
最终

John Micklethwait, the editor of The Economist since 2006, is leaving the newspaper to become editor-in-chief of Bloomberg. His successor will be appointed in January.
约翰·米柯斯维特，自2006年以来任经济学人编辑，离开该报社成为彭博的主编。一月份新经济学主编将上任。