中英双语新闻 前总统布什为新闻自由辩护（在线收听）

BBC News with Eileen McCue.

President Trump has promised what he called a “historic increase” in defense spending. White House officials say he wants the Pentagon budget to go up by $54bn, almost 10 per cent. The administration hopes to pay for the increase by cutting non-military programmes, but the budget must be approved by Congress.

The former US President George W Bush has said America needs answers on the extent of contacts between President Trump’s team and Russia. Mr Bush also defended the free press as indispensable to democracy. President Trump has branded critical media outlets as enemies of the people.

The World Health Organisation says there’s an urgent need for new antibiotics to combat bacteria. The UN agency has published a list of 12 bacteria families that pose the greatest threat to human health as they are resistant to existing antibiotics.

Syrian government forces have reportedly gained a swath of territory from Islamic State militants in the north of the country. They would now seem to be in a position to block any possible advance by Turkish troops and their local allies reaching the main IS bastion in Raqqa.

Opposition leaders in Colombia have called for the suspension of peace talks with the rebel group, the ELN, after it took responsibility for a bombing in Bogota that killed a police officer and injured 30 people. The former president, Alvaro Uribe, said it was a joke to continue to talk to the ELN.

The authorities in El Salvador say that the country’s much-loved and only hippo has died after being attacked at the national zoo. The 15-year-old hippo, named Gustavito, was beaten and stabbed over the weekend by unknown assailants.

And the president of world football’s governing body Fifa, Gianni Infantino, says Africa will get more than seven places in the expanded World Cup. Forty-eight teams will take part in the 2026 World Cup.

Eileen McCue为您报道BBC新闻。

特朗普总统承诺他所说的“历史性的增加”国防预算。白宫官员表示，他希望五角大楼预算增加540亿美元，增幅近10%。特朗普政府希望通过削减非军事项目来增加国防预算，但是必须通过国会批准。

美国前总统乔治·W·布什表示，关于特朗普总统竞选团队与俄罗斯之间接洽的程度，美国需要答案。布什还捍卫媒体自由是民主制度不可缺少的。特朗普总统称审慎的媒体渠道是人民的敌人。

世界卫生组织表示，迫切需要研制出新的抗生素来抵抗细菌。该联合国机构公布了12个菌科，对人类健康造成最大的威胁，但是对现在的抗生素产生了抗药性。

据报道，叙利亚政府军从北部伊斯兰国激进分子手中夺取了部分领土。目前，他们所处的位置能够抵抗来自土耳其军队及其当地盟友的任何进攻，后者已经抵达拉卡省主要的IS堡垒。

哥伦比亚反对派领袖要求暂停与叛军组织ELN举行的和平会谈。此前，ELN在波哥大制造了一起爆炸事件，造成1名警察死亡，30人受伤。前总统阿尔瓦罗·乌里韦(Alvaro Uribe)表示，继续跟ELN对话简直就是一个笑话。

萨尔瓦多当局表示，这个国家备受喜爱的，也是唯一的一头河马在国家动物园遇袭后死亡。这头15岁的河马名为Gustavito，周末期间被不明攻击者殴打刺伤。

国际足联主席因凡蒂诺(Gianni Infantino)表示，非洲在扩大的世界杯比赛中将获得超过七个位置。将有48支球队参加2026年的世界杯足球比赛。