中英双语新闻 苏格兰首席大臣建议再次举行独立公投（在线收听）

BBC News with Marion Marshall.

The British government has condemned the announcement of plans by the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to call a second referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister Theresa May described the move as deeply regrettable, saying it would create more uncertainty and division.

MPs at Westminster have approved a revised bill put forward by the government setting out its plans for Brexit. They have voted by a clear majority to reject two amendments put forward by the Upper Chamber—the House of Lords.

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his rival Geert Wilders of the anti-Islam Freedom party have been going head-to-head in a televised debate two days before the parliamentary election in the Netherlands. Mr Rutte defended his economic record over the past five years, but Mr Wilders attacked his credibility, criticising him for allowing record immigration.

New figures show defence spending among Nato members edged up in 2016, but most European nations are still nowhere near the threshold of 2% of Gross Domestic Product that President Trump has insisted on. Only four European nations—Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland—hit the target.

South Africa says the city of Durban will not be able to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games despite being chosen two years ago as its venue. It’s because of rising costs.

The United Nations says that inadequate funding has forced it to reduce the food rations it distributes in Yemen, even as millions there are threatened by potential famine. The organisation said it had been forced to cut back to make limited supplies stretch further.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has postponed her trip to Washington to meet President Trump because of a blizzard which is expected to hit cities along the US east coast within hours. Washington could see 15 centimetres of snow with New York expected to receive up to three times as much.

Marion Marshall为您报道BBC新闻。

苏格兰首席大臣斯特金(Nicola Sturgeon)宣布了一系列计划，呼吁针对脱离联合王国举行第二次全民公投。英国政府对此提出谴责。首相特蕾莎·梅(Theresa May)称此举非常令人遗憾，会造成更多分歧和不确定性。

威斯敏斯特议员通过了政府提出的脱欧计划修订案。他们以大多数优势投票否决了上议院提出的两项修正案。

距离荷兰议会选举还有两天时间，荷兰首相马克·吕特(Mark Rutte)和他的竞争对手，反伊斯兰自由党的基尔特·威尔德斯(Geert Wilders)在电视辩论中展开正面交锋。吕特为过去五年的经济记录辩护，但是威尔德斯攻击了他的信誉，批评他允许记录移民。

新的数据显示，2016年，北约成员国国防支出增加，但是大部分欧洲国家的支出仍然没有达到特朗普总统提议的国内生产总值的2%。只有四个欧洲国家达到目标，分别是英国，埃塞俄比亚，希腊和波兰。

南非表示，德班市将不能举办2022年英联邦运动会，尽管两年前已被选为主办城市。这是因为成本的不断增加。

联合国表示，资金不足导致他们减少了对也门的食物配给，尽管那里的数百万人面临潜在饥荒的威胁。联合国称，他们不得不采取缩减措施，使有限的补给持续更长时间。

由于几小时内暴风雪可能袭击美国东海岸沿线城市，德国总理安格拉·默克尔(Angela Merkel)推迟了访问华盛顿与特朗普总统会晤的计划。华盛顿的积雪可能达到15厘米，而纽约的积雪厚度可能是华盛顿的三倍。