英国新闻听力 美联储称将继续提供低利率贷款（在线收听）

The BBC has learned that a Libyan man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing is likely to be released from a Scottish prison next week on compassionate grounds. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi has terminal prostate cancer. Steve Jackson reports.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is serving a life sentence in jail for blowing up a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 270 people. But the BBC has now learned that preparation is being made to free him and return him to Libya by the end of next week in time for Ramadan. The Scottish government has yet to make a formal order for Mr. al-Megrahi's release but is expected to do so within days. Freeing him is likely to be a controversial move with the US attorney general and many relatives of those who died in the bombing fiercely opposing his release.

Georgia has strongly condemned the visit by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to its breakaway region of Abkhazia just a year after the two countries fought a brief war over the territory. Mr. Putin promised to spend 500 million dollars next year on military bases in Abkhazia and on fortifying the territory's border with Georgia. Richard Galpin reports from the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi.

The Russian prime minister was given a hero's welcome here by relatives of those killed in the first war with Georgia in the early 1990s, people calling him a guardian angel and thanking him for Russia's military intervention last year which crushed Georgia's hopes of regaining control of its breakaway regions. A top advisor to the Abkhaz government said Abkhazia had no choice but to get help from Russia. Just like in Georgia's, other breakaway region of South Ossetia, Moscow has now taken full control of security here.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continuing her African tour has asked Nigeria to take a firmer line on corruption and on strengthening democracy. Mrs. Clinton, who's been meeting senior figures from the government and political parties, offered American help to implement electoral reform in Nigeria.

We strongly support and encourage the government of Nigeria's efforts to increase transparency, reduce corruption, provide support for democratic processes in preparation for the 2011 elections.

The authorities in the Chinese capital Beijing have reportedly ordered hotels and residence there not to give lodging to people trying to petition the central government about local grievances. Reports from Hong Kong said the measure is to be enforced for two months.

The police in Sri Lanka say they're to round up all the street children in the capital, Colombo, to ensure that they go to school. A police spokesman said the children would be brought to Magistrate’s Courts if parents or guardians could be traced, they too would be summoned. The official said that if the children's families couldn't afford to send them to school, the government would fund it. The authorities expect most of the operation to be over in a few days which the BBC correspondent in Colombo describes as an ambitious target.

The United States central bank, the Federal Reserves says it will keep interest rates close to zero for an extended period. It said it wanted to ease the effects of recession despite signs of recovery in the economy. Greg Wood reports from New York.

The Federal Reserve believes that the US economy has entered a new phase, whereas two months ago it thought the activity was continuing to decline, albeit at a slowing pace. It now detects signs that the economy is leveling out. In other words, things are not getting worse. Household spending has stabilized and companies are rebuilding their stocks of goods, but this is not yet a recovery. Jobs are still being lost, incomes are growing sluggishly and credit remains tight.

A court in the United States has ordered the software giant Microsoft to pay more than 290 million dollars in damages to a Canadian firm i4i for violating a patent. A district court in Texas also barred Microsoft from selling any products that contain the patented technology, including versions of its popular word processing software Word. The patent, relates to the use of a programming language called XML. Microsoft said it would appeal against the judgment.

In some of the strongest criticism to date, the Roman Catholic Church says it feels mortified by revelations surrounding the private life of the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. An editorial in the Italian Bishop's Conference Newspaper says the church has sent clear signals about its unease. Mr. Berlusconi's political party relies heavily on the support of Catholic voters.

The acclaimed opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa said she was retiring. Dame Kiri, who is 65, said the strain of performing was becoming too intense. She will be singing for the last time in Germany next April. Dame Kiri started singing popular music in New Zealand in her late teens and gained attention as a classical singer when she won an opera contest in 1963. Her career blossomed after she moved to London to study.

BBC获悉1988年洛克比爆炸案的利比亚主要嫌疑犯下周将在苏格兰监狱获得释放。迈格拉希(Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi)已患末期前列腺癌。Steve Jackson报道。

由于在苏格兰小镇洛克比上空对泛美航空实施爆炸，造成270人死亡，迈格拉希(Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi)被判处无期徒刑。但是现在BBC获悉，苏格兰已准备释放迈格拉希，让他在下周末之前返回利比亚参加斋月节。苏格兰政府目前还没有正式下达释放迈格拉希的命令，但

是预期几天之内命令将公布。对于美国检查部门和爆炸中遇难的死者家属来说，迈格拉希被释放是非常有争议的举动。他们强烈反对将其释放。

俄罗斯总理普京在与格鲁吉亚进行短期战争一年之后访问从格鲁吉亚脱离地区阿布哈兹，格鲁吉亚强烈谴责了普京的行为。普京总理承诺，明年将提供5亿美元，用于建设阿布哈兹军事基地以及加强其与格鲁吉亚边境。Richard Galpin在阿布哈兹首都苏呼米报道。

普京总理在这里受到了英雄一般的欢迎，尤其是90年代初期与格鲁吉亚第一次战争中牺牲者的家属。他们称普京为“守卫天使”，感谢俄罗斯去年对格鲁吉亚采取军事干涉，粉碎了格鲁吉亚重新夺得分裂地区的希望。阿布哈兹政府一名高级顾问称，阿布哈兹别无选择，只能从俄罗斯寻求帮助。就好像格鲁吉亚其他分离地区南奥塞梯，现在莫斯科也完全控制了那里的安全形势。

美国国务卿希拉里继续其非洲之旅。她要求尼日利亚在反腐败和加强民主方面制定更加坚定的路线。希拉里会见了政府和政党高级官员，她说美国将帮助尼日利亚实施选举改革。

我们强力支持和鼓励尼日利亚政府增加透明度，减少腐败，我们将在2011年选举的准备工做中支持民主进程。

据报道，北京政府下令宾馆和当地居民不得为企图向中央政府控告当地政府的请愿者提供住宿。来自香港的报道称这个措施将执行两个月。

斯里兰卡警方称，他们将聚拢首都科伦坡医院的所有流浪儿童，确保他们去上学。一名警方发言人称，如果能够追踪到孩子的父母或监护人，孩子将被带到地方法庭，监护人也会收到传唤。这位官员称，如果孩子的家庭无力承担上学费用，政府将提供资助。斯里兰卡当局期望几天之内能够完成该行动。BBC驻科伦坡记者称这是一个非常宏伟的目标。

美国中央银行美联储称将继续提供接近零利率贷款更长时间。美联储称，尽管经济开始出现复苏的迹象，他们仍然希望减轻经济衰退带来的影响。Greg Wood在纽约报道。

联邦储蓄相信美国经济已经进入一个新的阶段，而两个月之前他们还认为经济活动将继续下滑，虽然下滑的速度减慢。现在，美联储观察到经济开始走出低谷的迹象。换句话说，形势不会更糟。家庭支出开始稳定，公司正在重新准备货物储备，但是这还不代表经济复苏。仍然有更多人失业，收入上涨缓慢，信贷依然紧缩。

美国一法庭下令美国软件巨头微软公司加拿大公司i4i支付2.9亿美元，以赔偿违反专利权给后者带来的损失。得克萨斯区级法院也下令禁止微软出售任何包含该专利技术的产品，包括其受欢迎的word处理软件。该专利是关于语言程序XML的使用。微软成其将对该判决提起上诉。

在目前为止最严厉的批评中，罗马天主教堂称非常悔恨披露了意大利总理贝卢斯科尼的私生活。意大利天主教会议报编辑称教堂明确表示了自己的不安。贝卢斯科尼的党派非常天主教投票者的支持。

著名的歌剧演员卡娜娃称她即将退休。65岁的卡娜娃说演出越来越紧张。明年四月，她将在德国进行最后一场演出。卡娜娃十几岁在新西兰开始演唱流行歌曲，1963年，她在一次歌剧比赛中作为古典歌手引起了大家的注意。她转移到伦敦学习之后，事业开始走上顶峰。