英语听力精选进阶版 7577（在线收听）

Thirty-six ice hockey players, among them top internationals from several European countries, have been killed in a plane crash in Russia. The victims included the captain of the Slovakian national team and the Swedish international goalkeeper. Steve Rosenberg reports.

It was one of Russia's top ice hockey teams. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl had players from across Europe, including from Sweden, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Today, the club was on a charter flight to Minsk ahead of a match in the Continental Hockey League. But shortly after take-off, the plane, a Yak-42, crashed into a riverbank nearby. It's feared that 43 out of the 45 people on board were killed. Only one of Lokomotiv's players survived, Alexander Galimov. He and one member of the plane's crew are in a critical condition in hospital.

Libya's National Transitional Council says it's sending a delegation to Niger to ask them not to give refuge to Colonel Gaddafi, should he try to enter the country, or any of his associates who've crossed the border in the past few days. They said they would also request that any cash or gold which was brought on the convoy of Libyan vehicles be returned. Earlier, the Nigerien foreign minister confirmed that three convoys carrying high-level fugitives had arrived from Libya. A spokesperson for the US State Department, Victoria Nuland, said they were under close watch.

"They are now being held in the capital, in government villas, and they are being monitored closely by Nigerien officials. Niger is also in direct contact with members of the Libyan Transitional National Council to discuss the future of these folks and their property."

The judge at the trial of the ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said that the country's current military ruler, Field Marshal Tantawi, will give evidence in a closed session on 11 September. It's been a key prosecution demand for Mr Tantawi to testify.

Nearly 1,000 prisoners have escaped in the Democratic Republic of Congo after their jail was stormed by eight masked gunmen. They unlocked all the cells at the prison in Lubumbashi, the capital of the southeastern province of Katanga. A civilian visitor to the jail was killed in the attack, and other people are believed to have been wounded. Thomas Hubert reports from Kinshasa.

Armed men opened fire on the Kassapa prison on Wednesday morning. They stormed the building, unlocked all the cells and freed more than 960 inmates, including the former militia leader Gedeon Kyungu Mutanga, known as Commander Gedeon. Mr Mutanga was on death row for his involvement in the Mai Mai insurrection in the province of Katanga between 2003 and 2006. The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, to whom he had surrendered before his trial, have confirmed his escape.Officials say many of the other prisoners have been recaptured.

World News from the BBC

Syrian security forces are reported to have killed at least 14 people in a fresh assault on the city of Homs. Activists said there was heavy gunfire in several parts of the city through the night and for much of the day. Videos posted online apparently show protesters in Homs being shot by snipers. The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has accused the Syrian government of crimes against humanity.

Western governments have been accused by Europe's leading human rights organisation of shielding their intelligence services from accountability for serious violations. The report's author, the rapporteur for the Council of Europe Dick Marty, said these had occurred during anti-terrorist operations. He said a licence to abduct, torture or kill only existed in films and dictatorships.

The Italian Senate has passed a controversial austerity package worth $76bn in savings. There were 165 votes in favour to 141 against. As the voting took place, hundreds of demonstrators opposing the measures tried to storm parliament but were dispersed by police. David Willey reports from Rome.

The final version of the austerity package, which has changed several times at the insistence of different pressure groups in recent days, will reduce government spending by over $75bn during the next two years. That's more than originally planned. A new wealth tax, a rise in the basic rate of VAT and delayed pensions for women workers are among the main provisions. Stocks rose over 4% Wednesday on the Milan stock exchange, which has been in free fall in recent days.

The Brazilian security forces have sent reinforcements into a poor district of Rio de Janeiro after a police patrol came under fire from suspected drugs traffickers. Extra troops and armoured vehicles were deployed after overnight gun battles, in which a teenage girl was reported killed.