BBC News :奥巴马努力阻止美国陷入财政悬崖
BBC News with Iain Purdon
The outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, appointed last year to prevent Italy coming to the Eurozone debt crisis will head an alliance of centrist parties in the country's upcoming elections. At a news conference, Mr Monti said he would prepare to lead a coalition supporting his reform agenda. David Willey reports from Rome.
Mr Monti who resigned earlier this month after 13 months in office, as head of the government of technocrats has now clearly thrown his head into the political ring in the general election due to be held at the end of February. After talks with leaders of the Center parties, Italy's former European commissioner made it clear that he will seek a second term. The election will be a three-way race between the Democratic Party, leading the polls at the moment, Silvio Berlusconi's Freedom Party which is trailing for other hand, and Mr Monti's center grouping which observers say could attract up to 15% of the vote.
President Obama has begun meeting Congressional leaders at the White House to try to reach a last minute deal to prevent the US falling off what's been dubbed the fiscal cliff. But there is growing doubts that the trigger for hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax rises and spending cuts can be avoided before the deadline of new year's day. From Washington here's is Zoe Conway.
There is increasing pessimism in Washington that the American can be safed from going over the fiscal cliff. Many people believed that Democrats and Republicans are too far apart on taxes and spending to reach a deal. And there is concern that apparent lack of urgency. The House of the Representatives is not backing session until Sunday night. The senate is open for business but it's not debating the fiscal cliff.
The Burmese government has announced that the private newspapers are to be allowed for the first time in decades, it follows the abolition of direct government media censorship in August. Our Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.
In a country with a rich intellectual past where electronic entertainment is still very basic, there is a great deal of printed material for sale in Burma. There are around 180 weekly magazines now filled with disgraced comment on Burma's political changes, but daily newspapers are still a state monopoly, that would change, according to a statement from the Information Ministry. From Februray next year, any Burme citizen can apply to publish a daily paper in any language.
Washington says it deeply regrets Russia's passing over a controversial law which bans Americans from adopting Russian children. The State Department said it was a political motivated decision which would reduce adoption possibilities for orphans. The measure signed into a law via President Putin, is a part of Moscow's retaliation against the American legislation that impose sanctions on Russian officials accused of human rights violations.
World News from the BBC
Doctors treating an Indian woman who was gang raped in Dehli earlier this month say her vital signs are deteriorating. The doctors at a hospital in Singapore where she's been treated at the Indian government's expense said there were signs of severe organ failure. They say her families are by her side.
The Main opposition party in Ghana has filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging the results of this month's presidential election which was won by incumbent John Mahama. Our African editor Mary Harper has this report.
The opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo said he had gone to court because of what he described as a mind-blowing evidence of electoral fraud. His party says there were problems with some 1.3 million votes enough to affect the overall outcome of the poll. The election observers, however, describe the poll as free and fair. The last time Mr. Akufo-Addo fought presidential election in 2008, he conceded defeat even though he lost by just one percentage point. Ghana is considered as one of the most stable democracies in Africa.
A judge in Chile has ordered the arrests of eight former army officers over the murder of a well-known left-wing singer Victor Jara, who was brutally killed days after the 1973 coup led by General Pinochet. The folk singer and political activist was arrested hours after the coup and taken to a stadium in Santiago where he was tortured and killed. Victor Jara's body was found days later in the streets of the Chilean capital with 44 bullet wounds.
Elderly parents in China are being given the right to sue their children if they don't visit often enough. The national legislature has amended laws to try to give some protection to old people who feel they are being neglected in a country with a rapidly aging population. Chinese children could face legal action if they don't visit often enough, although there's no guidance as to how often that should be.
BBC News.
参考译文
Iain Purdon为你播报BBC新闻。
为阻止意大利陷入欧洲债务危机，去年意大利总理马里奥·蒙蒂接受任命，目前他已离任，并将在意大利即将举行的选举中领导中间党派联盟。蒙蒂在新闻发布会上称，他将领导一个联盟以实施其改革议程。David Willey在罗马报道。
就职13个月的蒙蒂已于本月初辞职，作为学者型政府的首脑，他现在准备在2月底举行的大选中加入政治集团。在与中间党派领袖商谈后，这位欧盟委员会 前成员明确表示将寻求第二任期。选举将呈三足鼎立之势，目前民主党在民调中领先，西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼的自由党也参与角逐，观察家称蒙蒂的中间党派将赢得 15%的支持率。
总统奥巴马与国会领袖在白宫会面，努力在最后时刻阻止美国陷入财政悬崖，目前这一局面很有可能发生。但也有越来越多的人怀疑，自动增税数千万美元并削减开支的做法是可以在年底避免的。Zoe Conway在华盛顿报道。
华盛顿目前越发悲观，担心美国可能无法避免财政悬崖。许多人认为民主党和共和党在税收和开支方面分歧太大，难以达成协议。人们还担心双方缺乏紧迫感，众议院直到周日晚上才开会。参议院目前正在开会，但辩论的话题并未财政悬崖。
数十年来，缅甸政府首次宣称允许私人报刊存在，就在此前8月份，政府废除了对媒体的直接审查。东南亚记者Jonathan Head报道。
缅甸社会过去的文化程度较高，而电子娱乐仍处于初级水平，目前缅甸有大量印刷资料出售。缅甸目前有约180家充斥着政改评论的周刊，这些评论很杂 乱，但日报仍处于垄断状态，而信息部在声明中表示这方面将会改变。从明年1月起，缅甸的任何一位公民都可以申请出版任何语言的日报。
此前俄罗斯通过法律禁止美国人收养俄罗斯儿童，引起议论纷纷，对此，华盛顿表示非常遗憾。国务院称该决定出于政治目的，会减少孤儿被收养的集会。这项措施是由总统普京签署为法律，作为莫斯科对美国报复手段的一部分，此前美国通过立法向被控侵犯人权的俄罗斯官员进行制裁。
本月初被轮奸的印度女子的医生称，这位女子状况每况愈下。女子目前在新加坡一家医院接受治疗，由印度政府支付费用，医生称女子表现出器官衰竭的迹象。他们称女子的家人陪伴在她身边。
加纳主要反对派向最高法院就本月的总统选举结果提起诉讼，现任总统约翰·马哈马在选举中获胜。BBC驻非洲编辑Mary Harper报道。
反对派领袖纳纳·阿库福-阿多称选举中出现令人震惊的诈骗，因此要上法庭。他的党派称大约1300万张选票有问题，足以影响选举结果。然而选举观察 家称选举自由公平。在2008年的选举中，阿库福-阿多称参加总统选举，他只因一个百分点的支持率之差承认败选。一般认为加纳是非洲最稳定的民主国家。
智利法官下令逮捕8名前军官，罪名是谋杀知名的左翼歌手维克多·哈拉，在1973年皮诺切特将军领导的争辩中，哈拉被残忍杀害。这位民歌手兼政治活 动人士在政变发生数小时后被捕，然后被带往圣地亚哥一个体育馆，他在那里遭受毒打并被杀。四天后，在智利首都的大街上，人们发现了维克多·哈拉的遗体，身 上有44处弹伤。
如今，如果孩子们不经常探望，中国的老年父母可以提起诉讼。中国目前处于快速的老龄化时代，国家立法机构修改法律以保护被忽视的老年父母。如果不经常探望父母，中国的子女们将会面临诉讼，尽管对探望的频率并无确切规定。
