voa标准英语2008-Libya Bans Swiss Flights

Libya has banned Switzerland's national carrier, Swiss International Air Lines, from flying to Tripoli. This is the latest twist in ongoing¹ diplomatic row between countries over the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son, Hannibal.

'Technical reasons' prompted cancellation²
　

Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi (file photo)

Switzerland's national carrier had three weekly flights from Zurich to Tripoli until mid-July when the Libyan authorities reduced them to one, citing "technical reasons." Swiss Air Lines spokeswoman Andrea Kreuzer says the company received a letter saying it had to stop its last remaining flight.

"The reason given in the letter was the same as in July that for technical reasons related to the execution of the Tripoli International Airport Project, we are not allowed for the moment to fly between Zurich and Tripoli," she said. "As we had to stop the flights for the time being we can not say what impacts this has and we do not publish any booking figures for single flights… Regarding our passengers, we are, of course about to inform all our passengers to book on other flights.

Kreuzer says Swiss is in touch with the Libyan authorities regarding the resumption of service between the two countries. For the time being, she says, the situation remains³ under discussion.

"No, we were informed by the civil aviation office of Libya that we have to stop for the time being until further notice," she said.

Arrest of Gadhafi's son, wife, triggered tension between two countries

The row between Libya and Switzerland erupted after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, Hannibal and his wife, Aline, were arrested in Geneva during the summer. They were charged with assaulting two domestic staff. The couple was released after the servants received compensation and withdrew their charges.

But, this set off a series of tit-for-tat measures, which seriously threatened diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Libya arrested two Swiss nationals shortly after Hannibal Gadhafi and his wife were released on bail⁴ and left Switzerland. The Libyan authorities also forced Swiss businesses to close their offices. They cut the number of weekly Swiss flights to Tripoli from three to one and threatened to stop crude oil deliveries to Switzerland.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry⁵ has been in talks with Libya since the dispute broke out and officials say they thought relations were on the mend. Apparently⁶, they were mistaken.

Mr. Gadhafi has neither forgotten nor forgiven, what he considers to be, an insult to his family. He continues to demand an apology from Switzerland for the so-called "abuse of Libyan diplomats⁷ and business people by the Geneva police."

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

5 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。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》