French Rule Bomb outside Indonesian Embassy

 

By Lisa Bryant

A small bomb exploded in front of the Indonesian Embassy in Paris early Friday, injuring 10 people. Authorities are calling the explosion a criminal action.

The bomb exploded at around five a.m., local time, in front of the Indonesian Embassy, located in the elegant 16th arrondissement, or district, in Paris.

French authorities say nobody was killed, and those injured were cut by flying glass from the explosion, and were sent to a hospital for treatment. Police say four of the injured worked at the Indonesian Embassy.

The bomb created a small crater¹ where it exploded, and blasted glass over an area of 30 meters.

French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin, who arrived at the embassy shortly after the attack, ruled the attack was a criminal act. In remarks carried on French public radio, Mr. de Villepin said police were on the spot conducting an investigation². He said he asked that they alert him to their conclusions as rapidly as possible.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. And authorities say it is not clear who might be behind it or why the Indonesian Embassy might have been targeted.

Mr. de Villepin hastily called for a meeting with his aides Friday morning to address possible threats to France.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry³ spokesman Marty Natalegawa, speaking Friday morning in Jakarta, said Indonesia was collaborating⁴ with French police in the investigation. "At this time, we don't know whether the explosion was directed at the Indonesian Embassy, and we are working with the local police to ascertain⁵ what is the motive⁶ and what exactly took place," he said.

French President Jacques Chirac, who is attending an Asian-European summit in Hanoi, sent a message of support to the Indonesian government.

Like many others in Europe, the French government has stepped up its security since the September 11th, 2001, attacks on the United States and the March 11th attacks this year in Spain.

The government received several warnings earlier this year by alleged⁷ terrorist groups, which threatened to bomb the country's rail lines. The country has not suffered any major terrorist incident in recent years.

Lisa Bryant, for VOA news, Paris.
注释：
Indonesian 印度尼西亚
embassy 大使馆
criminal 犯罪的
arrondissement 法国的行政区
crater 弹坑
spot 现场
collaborate 合作
ascertain 确定
Hanoi 河内（越南首都）

 

1 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

5 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

6 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为