英国新闻听力 马德里网球公开赛纳达尔负于费德勒（在线收听）

The Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka said they decided to silence their guns after more than two decades of conflict with government forces. The Tigers said they were ready to lay down their arms, but the spokesman insisted this was not a surrender. A former mediator in the conflict, the Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik Solheim has said Tamil sources had told him they'd be prepared to hand their arms to the international community. Damian Grammaticas reports.

Celebrations erupted in Colombo today as words spread that the war against the Tamil Tigers is almost at an end. The Tigers are now confined to an area of jungle just 200 metres by 200 metres, says the government. In a statement released on the TamilNet website, the Tigers' chief of international relations Selvarasa Pathmanathan said the battle has reached its bitter end and he added that the Tigers had decided to silence their guns to save the lives of Tamil civilians. But the army spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said Sri Lankan forces will not let up their offensive until every inch of land is under government control.

Earlier the Sri Lankan army said that all of the thousands of Tamil civilians trapped in the country's war zone had now escaped. This has been directly contradicted by the Tamil Tigers. They say there are 25,000 critically injured civilians trapped in the war zone with no medical attention available. James Elder, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Agency UNICEF, said that it was concerned that all civilians should be able to leave the area.

Government is stating that just over 50,000 people have moved into government-controlled territory in the past 72 hours. Now, there are no absolutes, but it is certainly, it's our hope that all people, all civilians are out of that area because they have paid far too great a price for the actions of both sides over these past months.

President Obama has defended the legal right to abortion in a speech at a Roman Catholic University and appealed to Americans on both sides of the debate to respect one another's beliefs. At Notre Dame University in Indiana, Mr. Obama said the two camps' views were to some extent irreconcilable. From Washington, Justin Webb

This was billed as a showdown between President Obama and Catholic Conservatives who have been among his firmest and most vocal critics in the months since he was elected. Mr. Obama's invitation to Notre Dame upset many, who believe his views on abortion-he has a record of support for abortion rights, rendered him unsuitable to be the recipient of an honorary degree. Nearly a quarter of all Americans are Catholics. They make up a hugely important slice of the electorate. And there is some polling evidence that their support for Mr. Obama has been falling sharply since his election.

The Speaker of the British Parliament Michael Martin has said he will give a statement to MPs on Monday following calls by the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party for his resignation. Mr. Martin is under pressure over his handling of a scandal involving politicians' expense claims.

This is Michael Poles with the World News from the BBC.

Dalia Grybauskait?, the European Union's Budget Commissioner, has claimed victory in Lithuanian's presidential election. Speaking to reporters, Ms. Grybauskait? said she expected to win 70% of the vote and that turnout would be 52%, meaning a second ballot would not be required. Ms.Grybauskait?, who ran as an independent candidate, was seen as a clear favorite going into the poll. Adam Easton reports.

Lithuania is undergoing a painful economic recession. Ms. Grybauskait? was widely seen by voters as a competent EU budget chief. Very frank by her own admission, she castigated the politicians back home in Vilnius for squandering years of economic boom, and failing to prepare for the global crisis. In Lithuania, the president's main power, however, lies in foreign policy and here she has promised to be less confrontational, especially towards Russia.

A group representing the largest ethnic group in Nigeria's oil-producing region, the Niger Delta, has accused the government of killing around a thousand people in attacks by land, air and sea. A spokesman for the Ijaw National Congress called on the United Nations to intervene. A Nigerian military spokesman dismissed the allegations as unfounded.

A judge in South Africa has dismissed an attempt to stop a multimillion-dollar investment by the British multinational Vodafone in the country's telephone industry. The case was brought to court by trade unions and the South African telecommunication's regulator who oppose the deal, but Vodafone had the backing of President Jacob Zuma. Analysts say a decision to halt the deal would have dealt a blow to South Africa's image as a business-friendly country.

The world's number one tennis player Rafael Nadal has been beaten in the final of the Madrid Open by his long-time rival Roger Federer. The defeat ended a 33 match winning streak for Nadal on clay. The world number two Federer had lost his previous five matches with Nadal.

在与政府军队进行了长达二十多年的冲突之后，斯里兰卡叛军塔米尔猛虎组织终于宣布停战。塔米尔猛虎组织称，他们已经准备放下武器，但是其发言人坚持称这不是投降。这场突冲的前调停者，挪威国际发展部长Erik Solheim称，塔米尔方面的消息来源告诉他，他们已经准备向国际社会缴枪投降。Damian Grammaticas报道。

随着反抗塔米尔猛虎组织的战争即将结束的消息传播开来，科伦坡涌现出许多庆祝活动。政府方面表示，猛虎组成现在被困在200*200m的丛林地带。塔米尔组织在其网站上发表声明，塔米尔国际关系领导Selvarasa Pathmanathan称，战争已经结束，猛虎组织决定停火以拯救塔米尔平民的生命。但是军方发言人Udaya Nanayakkara称，在每寸土地都在政府掌控之前，斯里兰卡军队不会停止攻击。

此前，斯里兰卡军方称，被困在该国战区的所有数千名平民已完全逃离。这与塔米尔猛虎组织的说法互相矛盾。他们说，还有25,000受伤的平民被困在战区，完全没有医疗设施。联合国儿童基金会发言人James Elder表示，他们很关心所有贫民能否安全逃离战区。

政府称，在过去的72小时内，仅有50,000多人转移到政府控制区域。现在具体数字上不明确。但是，肯定的一点是，我们希望所有人，所有平民都离开战区，因为在过去几个月里，他们已经为双方的行动付出了非常大的代价。

美国总统奥巴马在一所罗马天主教大学发表讲话时为堕胎的合法权利做辩护，并呼吁辩论的双方都尊重对方的信仰。在印第安纳州的巴黎圣母院大学，奥巴马总统称两大阵营的观点完全都非常坚定，不可调和。华盛顿，Justin Webb报道。

这是奥巴马总统和天主教保守派之间的摊牌。自从奥巴马当选以来的几个月，天主教保守派对他的批判最为坚定，反对声最大。对于奥巴马受邀来访巴黎圣母院大约，许多人感到不满，此前奥巴马曾经几次表示支持堕胎的权利，这让天主教徒认为其不适合接受荣誉学位。接近四分之一的美国人是天主教徒，他们是美国选民非常重要的一部分。有民意调查显示，自奥巴马当选以来，支持率急剧下降。

英国议会发言人Michael Martin称周一他将向议员发表声明。此前，自由主义民主党领袖曾要求其辞职。由于对政治家报销丑闻事件处理不当， Martin面临极大压力。

BBC世界新闻，Michael Poles。

欧盟预算委员Dalia Grybauskait在立陶宛总统选举中取得胜利。Grybauskait对记者说，她希望赢得70%的选票，结果是52%，这意味着不需要进行第二轮投票。Grybauskait是作为独立的无党派候选人进行竞选，民意测验显示，她是最受欢迎的候选人。Adam Easton报道。

立陶宛正在经历严重的经济危机。Grybauskait被选民广泛地认为是有能力的欧盟预算专员。Grybauskait谴责维尔纽斯的政治家浪费了几年经济发展的时间，没有为全球经济危机做准备。然而，在立陶宛，总统的主要权利在于外交政策方面。她承诺，不会再采取过分的对抗政策，尤其是对俄罗斯。

尼日利亚产油区尼日尔三角洲最大的民族团体控告政府在陆海空袭击中杀害了一千人。Ijaw国民大会要求联合国进行干预。尼日利亚军方发言人对指控表示否认，称其完全没有根据。

南非一名法官解除了试图阻止英国跨国公司沃达丰在该国电话行业数百万美元投资的行为。贸易联盟和南非电信调节商反对这笔交易，向法庭提起诉讼，但是沃达丰受到总统祖马的支持。分析家称，停止该交易的决定会对南非商业友好的国家形象造成打击。

世界排名第一的网球选手纳达尔在马德里网球公开赛决赛中被其长期对手费德勒击败使其他保持了33场连胜的红土连胜纪录宣告终结。世界排名第二的费德勒在此前与纳达尔的五场比赛中均失败。