英语听力精选进阶版 7461（在线收听）

Britain, France and Italy have become the latest countries to demand that Syria stop using violence against anti-government protesters. The British government has warned it will push for sanctions if the repression continues. In the Syrian city of Deraa, the main focus of the protests, there have been more reports of gunfire. James Robbins reports.

Many governments and international organisations are lining up to urge the Syrian regime to change course. President Obama has already condemned it as "outrageous". The Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament that Britain would work for agreement on international sanctions if the Syrian government continued its violence. But under questioning in the comments, Mr Hague conceded that opposition within the Security Council makes UN action uncertain. And the European Union President Herman van Rompuy says the EU can do little to help Syrians because unlike in the case of Libya, it would not get the support of the Arab League.

Pro-government troops in Libya have been shelling port facilities in Misrata, the only city in the west that's held by rebels. The attacks have prevented the departure of hundreds of people, including residents and migrant workers, who are trying to flee the violence. Peter Biles reports.

An eyewitness in Misrata says the port area of the city has been shelled. People have been waiting nearby at a refugee camp, hoping to be evacuated by ship. There are unconfirmed reports that at least three people were killed and others wounded as a result of the shelling. A ship chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross has now left the port. Access to the sea has been a lifeline for the people of Misrata during the siege, allowing residents to leave and aid supplies to come in.

Italy and France say there must be changes to the Schengen Agreement on open borders in the European Union to help member states cope with exceptional circumstances. The call by Silvio Berlusconi and Nicolas Sarkozy follows a row over what to do with about 25,000 migrants displaced by unrest in North Africa. The issue has caused the worst tension between France and Italy for years.

The Russian president has called for new international rules covering safety at nuclear plants. Dmitry Medvedev was speaking as he and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych made an unprecedented joint visit to the town of Chernobyl to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident. David Stern reports.

Mr Medvedev said that he'd already forwarded the proposals to world leaders. Nuclear energy remained essential, the Russian president said, but greater openness was needed. Mr Medvedev was making his first visit to the 30km exclusion zone, which was evacuated after the Chernobyl disaster struck in 1986. The Chernobyl anniversary has gained added importance since the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant. Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych called for further international assistance in dealing with the consequences of Chernobyl.

World News from the BBC

Security forces in Mexico are searching for the gunmen who killed three policemen in the northern town of Guadalupe on Monday. Witnesses said the three traffic officers were shot dead by unidentified men in a drive-by shooting. The attack came one day after another officer was killed in the nearby city of Monterrey, which along with its surrounding areas have seen a marked increase in violence this year.

Revised European Union figures show that the Greek government has failed to meet its deficit reduction target for last year, despite introducing tough austerity measures. The deficit was more than two percentage points above the government target. Here's Andrew Walker.

The new figures reinforce concern in the financial markets that Greece will eventually default on its government debts. That was reflected in a further increase in the interest rate on those debts. Higher interest rates can be a sign that investors think a borrower is in danger of failing to repay. Greece is receiving EU and International Monetary Fund loans while it's trying to narrow the budget deficit. Many in the markets doubt whether it can make the public spending cuts and generate the extra tax revenue needed to do that.

Millions of Nigerians have been voting for the country's powerful state governors, the third poll in as many weeks. Voter turnout appears to have been low amid fears of violence. More explosions were heard in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the scene of recent bomb attacks. A BBC correspondent in the northwestern state of Katsina said he saw ballot boxes being stolen, while another BBC reporter saw money being given to people to vote in the northern state of Nasarawa.

And the electronics giant Sony has asked users of its PlayStation global game playing network for more patience as it tries to restore the system, which was allegedly hacked last week. A spokesman for Sony said he regretted that the PlayStation and Qriocity networks had been suspended and that engineers were working round the clock to put both of them back online.