英语听力精选进阶版 7430（在线收听）

The Portuguese parliament has rejected controversial austerity measures put forward by the government to rescue the country's ailing economy. The Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who leads a minority government, has said he would stand down if the vote went against him. Chris Morris has the details.

The minority government in Portugal had passed three previous packages of austerity measures with opposition support. But this was a step too far, a mix of sweeping cuts in public spending and pensions, and a rise in taxes, applauded in Brussels but rejected in Lisbon. Now Portugal looks set to head for early elections, a period of political drift, and immense pressure to accept a multi-billion-euro bailout from eurozone funds.

The commander of British aircraft flying missions over Libya says Western forces now control the skies there. Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell said they could now operate with near impunity as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's air force is no longer existing as a fighting unit. The American military chief for the Libyan mission, Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber, said that they were putting pressure on Colonel Gaddafi's ground forces, which continue to threaten cities.

"There's widespread reporting indicating Libyan ground forces are engaged in fighting in a number of cities, putting innocent civilians in grave danger. In Ajdabiya, regime forces intensified combat in, into and out of the city. In Misrata, regime forces continue to clear opposition, increase combat operations and target civilian populations in the city."

Egypt's most senior prosecutor has sanctioned a criminal trial against the former interior minister for the shooting of protesters during popular protests in late January. More than 350 people died. From Cairo, Jonathan Head.

Leaders of the uprising have repeatedly called for someone to be held to account for those deaths. Now five senior officials, including the former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, have been charged and will go to trial for ordering their men to open fire on demonstrators. That should go some way to satisfying the protest movement. The interior minister is near the top of their list of those they hold responsible for the violence. But the committee that investigated his role recommended another name to add to the charge sheet - that of Mr Mubarak himself, who hasn't been seen in public since he resigned.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel would, as he put it, respond "aggressively, responsibly and wisely" to a bomb attack at a bus stop in Jerusalem. A woman was killed and about 30 other people were injured, some critically. US and Palestinian leaders have condemned the bombing as a terrorist attack. Hamas, which controls Gaza, said it would seek to lower growing tensions with Israel, prompted by militant Palestinian rocket attacks in recent days and Israeli reprisals.

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An American soldier has pleaded guilty to taking part in killing three unarmed civilians in southern Afghanistan last year. Corporal Jeremy Morlock was one of five US soldiers accused of the killings in Kandahar province and of conspiracy to plant weapons on the dead to make it appear that they were enemy combatants. He's received a 24-year prison term.

There are reports of further violence in the Syrian city of Deraa following a police raid on a mosque that left several people dead. Early on Wednesday, Syrian police stormed the Omari mosque, which had become a focal point for anti-government protests. Owen Bennett-Jones has more.

Protests in Deraa have been going on since Friday, and residents say the main mosque was being used as a first aid post to treat people hurt in clashes with the police. Then in the early hours of this morning, the security forces cut the electricity supply to the mosque and attacked, killing six people. When young men took to the streets to protest against that action, the security forces once again opened fire, killing nine more. The official news agency in Syria tells a very different story. It says armed gangs of criminals have been attacking innocent bystanders.

And some news just in on our lead story, we've just heard that the Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates has resigned.Bolivia has said it will take Chile to international court to try to recover access to the Pacific Ocean, which it lost in a war more than a century ago. The Bolivian President Evo Morales said Chile had failed to respond to a deadline he'd set for progress in negotiations. He said Bolivia would continue dialogue with Chile while seeking a legal solution to its landlocked status.

One of Hollywood's biggest stars, Elizabeth Taylor, has died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles. She was 79. Elizabeth Taylor, who was British-born, made her names in films such as National Velvet, Cleopatra and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.