英国新闻听力 111（在线收听）

The Director of National Intelligence in Washington, Dennis Blair, says the global economic crisis is the main immediate security concern for the United States. Admiral Blair gave his analysis in an annual assessment of the threats the United States believes it's facing. As Richard Lister reports from Washington.

Admiral Blair warned that the longer it takes the economic recovery to begin, the more likely it is that American's strategic interests will be seriously damaged. He said about a quarter of the world's countries have already experienced low-level instability, such as changes in government because of the current slowdown, and that most nations in Latin America, the former Soviet Union and Sub-Sahara Africa don't have the financial resources to limit the impact of recession. That, he said, increase their risk of major instability, leading to economic nationalism and ultimately the inability of America's friends and allies to meet their defence and humanitarian obligations.

A Republican member of the Untied States Senator, Judd Gregg, has withdrawn as President Obama's nominee for the cabinet post of commerce secretary because of differences over policy. Senator Gregg was Mr. Obama's second choice for the post. His first choice, Bill Richardson, withdrew his name a month ago after questions were raised about his past links to big business. From Washington, Jonathan Beale now reports.

This is another blow for Barack Obama in trying to shape his cabinet. It's also a serious setback in the president's efforts to reach out to Republicans. In a statement, Judd Gregg said it had become apparent during the vetting process that his appointment would not work because, as he said, there were irresolvable conflicts on policy. Senator Gregg cited Barack Obama's stimulus package as an example. It's been widely criticized by Republicans who say it'll lead to wasteful government spending.

The new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, has spent some of his first full day in office, visiting political prisoners linked to his party, the Movement for Democratic Change. Earlier, the human rights group, Amnesty International, called on the new unity government to release all political prisoners. Greg Morsbach reports.

Mr. Tsvangirai did not make any guarantees that the political prisoners would be released. But after a brief visit to a maximum-security prison near the capital, he did tell them their cases would be processed more quickly. Mr. Tsvangirai promised that the law would take its proper cause, as he put it. The 16 prisoners who met the prime minister are all charged with trying to overthrow President Mugabe. Several of the prisoners are said to be unwell and have not received the medical attention the MDC has called for.

A United States government report says the Pentagon has failed to keep track of tens of thousands of weapons sent to the Afghan security forces. The report says the arms include rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers provided by the United States and its NATO allies.

You are listening to the World News from the BBC.

India has welcomed Pakistan's first acknowledgement that the deadly attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai last November were partly planned in Pakistan. The head of the Pakistani Interior Ministry said criminal proceedings had begun in Islamabad against eight men on terrorism charges. India's External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, welcomed Pakistan's action.

"Some of the persons have been arrested. This is a positive step. They have also asked [for] more materials. After examination, we'll share whatever we can. We'll expect that Pakistan would take credible steps to dismantle the infrastructure which are used by these terror elements."

The controversial right-wing Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, has flown out of Britain after being refused entry because of a government ban. The British government said his views on Islam threatened community harmony and national security. Mr. Wilders accused the British government of acting against freedom of speech. He'd been invited to Parliament to show a film he'd made which describes the Koran as fascist.

Riot police from mainland France have arrived on the French Caribbean Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe to try to keep the peace as protests escalate over low wages and increasing cost of living. Strikes on the islands have closed shops and schools, and the reinforcements are intended to help local police.

Evidence has emerged that Neanderthal Man may have been able to speak as well as modern-day humans. Researchers in Germany say they've found that our closest evolutionary relative who died out around 30,000 years ago shared a gene that associated with speech and language. The scientists say that analysing the differences between modern humans and Neanderthals might shed light on the evolution of modern conditions such as autism.

BBC News.

Glossary

shed light on: To shed light on, throw light on, or cast light on something means to make it easier to understand, because more information is known about it.

vet: If someone is vetted, they are investigated fully before being given a particular job, role, or position, especially one which involves military or political secrets.

华盛顿美国情报总监丹尼斯-布莱尔说，全球经济危机是美国当前最主要的安全隐患。海军上将布莱尔在美国所面临的威胁的年度评估报告中分析道。Richard Lister在华盛顿报道。

海军上将布莱尔警告说，经济复兴计划开始的越迟，美国战略性利益受损的可能性越大。他说，世界上大约四分之一的国家已经经历了的低水平的不稳定性，比如由于目前的经济下滑导致的政府变革，拉丁美洲的许多国家，前苏联和撒哈拉以南非洲不具备金融来源来限制经济衰退的影响。他说，这增加了主要的动乱的风险，会导致经济民族主义，最终会导致美国的友国和盟国不能完成国防和人道主义使命。

美国共和党参议员贾德·格雷格由于政见不同，宣布退出奥巴马政府商务部长提名。格雷格是奥巴马对该职位的第二个人选。他的第一个提名人理察森由于过往与大集团的联系于一个月前退出提名。华盛顿，Jonathan Beale报道。

这是奥巴马组阁受到的又一次打击。这也是总统试图团结共和党遇到的严重挫折。在声明中，格雷格表示，已经非常明显，他的任命不可行，因为双方在政治观念方面有冲突。他引用奥巴马的经济刺激方案为例。在共和党内部，该方案收到广泛批评，会导致巨大的政府支出浪费。

津巴布韦信任总理摩根·茨万吉拉伊执政的第一天造访了民主改革运动的政治囚犯。此前，人权组织国际特赦组织呼吁建立全新的统一政府，释放所有政治犯。Greg Morsbach 报道。

茨万吉拉伊没有做出任何将要释放政治犯的保证。但是对首都附近一所最安全的监狱进行访问后，他告诉囚犯，他们的案件将会加快审理。茨万吉拉伊许诺，一切都将按照法律程序。会见总理的16名犯人都被起诉试图推翻总统穆加贝。据说，一些囚犯身体状况不佳，却没有按照反对派的要求进行医治。

一篇美国政府报道称，五角大楼未留意到踪运往阿富汗安全保卫部队的数千武器。该报告称，这批装备包括来复枪，导弹推进的手榴弹发射台，均由美国及北约盟国提供。

巴基斯坦首次承认，去年11月份孟买受到的致命袭击部分在巴基斯坦进行策划。印度对此表示欢迎。巴基斯坦内政部长表示，已经在伊斯兰堡对八名恐怖主义嫌疑人开始刑事诉讼。印度外交部长慕克吉对巴基斯坦的行为表示赞赏。

“其中一些罪犯已经被逮捕，这是积极进展，目前还需要进一步的资料。在审查过后，我们将分享所有信息。我们希望巴基斯坦采取可靠措施，拆除恐怖分子用来实施恐怖行动的基础设施。”

颇具争议的右翼荷兰政客威尔德斯由于政府禁令被禁止入境，飞离英国。英国政府表示，威尔德斯关于伊斯兰教的看法威胁社会和谐和国家安全。威尔德斯控诉英国政府反对言论自由。他曾被邀请到议会播放电影，在电影中，他将古兰经描述成法西斯。

由于工资降低，生活成本提高，反对的声音不断扩散，法国本土防爆警察抵达加勒比海的马提尼岛和瓜德罗普岛，试图保证和平。这两个岛屿举行罢工活动，商店和学校纷纷关闭，救兵主要是为了援助当地警察。

有证据表明， 穴居人可以像现代人一样说话。德国研究人员表示，他们发现了死于30，000年前的离我们最近的祖先与我们有同样的语言基因。科学家表示，研究穴居人和现代人的不同有助于现代疾病治疗比如孤僻症的发展。