英国新闻听力 英反欺凌机构称接到首相府员工投诉布朗（在线收听）

The chairman of the West African regional grouping ECOWAS, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, has said the new military authorities in Niger have assured him that they intend to return the country to democratic rule. He was speaking during a visit to the capital, Niamey, for talks with the soldiers who took power last Thursday after ousting Mamadou Tandja as president. Caspar Leighton reports from Niamey.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas said the military authorities would include all of Niger's political and civil society in a transition period that would see a return to constitutional order. However, no time frame was given for this transition. A high-ranking member of the military authority, Colonel Djibrilla Hamidou Hima, said that President Mamadou Tandja, who was captured during the coup, was being held in a service quarters of the presidential palace, in what he said were very good conditions.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a controversial plan to add two major religious sites in the West Bank to Israel's national heritage list. The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem were not initially included, but the prime minister changed his mind following protests from right wingers in the governing coalition. Opponents of the move have expressed dismay. The former Palestinian cabinet minister, Mustafa Barghouti, said the decision amounted to a declaration from Israel that there was no hope for peace negotiations.

"This act in addition to the annexation of Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem is nothing but a declaration from the side of Israel that it will impose facts on the ground, annex the land, and prevent any possibility for real peace. This is a very serious declaration from the side of Netanyahu that there is no hope for negotiations and no hope for the peace that in Israel and today there is no peace partner."

Reports from Afghanistan say American Marines and Afghan troops are closing in on a Taliban stronghold in the southern town of Marjah. And in an interview on American television, General David Petraeus, the commander of all US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, described the Taliban response as formidable but a bit disjointed.

A big rescue and recovery operation is continuing on the Portuguese island of Madeira after Saturday's devastating floods that killed more than 40 people. About 120 more were injured by the torrent of water, mud and rocks that tore through the capital, Funchal, and other parts of the island. Sarah Rainsford reports.

Rescue teams in Madeira are still hunting for survivors and for bodies following the worst storm to hit the island in many years. Torrential rain triggered landslides and sent walls of floodwater surging through city streets, tearing up trees, smashing cars and destroying houses. Local media reports say some parts of the south coast remained cut off with access roads blocked by piles of debris. There are fears that landslides there may have claimed more lives.

The government of Honduras says that it has restored diplomatic ties with 29 countries following its isolation after a military-backed coup last year. The Foreign Minister Mario Canahuati said Germany, France and neighboring Guatemala were among those to have re-established diplomatic relations since the swearing-in of the new president, Porfirio Lobo, at the end of last month.

The office of the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has responded to claims that members of his staff have contacted an anti-bullying charity. The spokesman said that at no time had the charity, the National Bullying Helpline, approached Downing Street about the allegations. The claim by the charity follows newspaper allegations that Mr.Brown abused members of his staff in the months after coming to office in 2007. Nick Robinson reports.

It is one thing to be accused of bullying by a journalist with a book to sell; it is another though, for someone who runs an anti-bullying helpline to allege that they have been called by staff working directly with the prime minister. Gordon Brown doesn't of course pretend to be easy to deal with. In recent days and weeks, he's admitted to losing his temper, shouting at people and even to throwing things when frustrated. However, the attempt of his close political ally Peter Mandelson to justify this behaviour as that of someone who was - in his words - emotional, passionate and demanding, has now backfired.

The music company EMI says it believes that it should retain ownership of the Abbey Road recording studios in London. Reports last week suggested that EMI was planning to sell the studios, famous as the place the Beatles recorded their album Abbey Road, as part of a plan to pay off debts.

And a Nepali teenager, who's just 56 cm tall, is heading for Europe in a bid to be recognized as the world's shortest living man. The family of Khagendra Thapa Magar, who's 18 years old, first submitted an application to the Guinness Book of World Records four years ago, but it was rejected because he was not an adult and might grow.

西非国家经济共同体领导人(ECOWAS)穆罕默德·伊本·钱巴斯(Mohamed Ibn Chambas)表示，尼日尔新任军事政府已经向他保证，他们旨在恢复国家民主制度。穆罕默德·伊本·钱巴斯访问尼日尔首都尼亚美，与上周四推翻总统马马杜·坦贾的士兵进行对话，期间发表讲话。Caspar Leighton在尼亚美报道。

穆罕默德·伊本·钱巴斯(Mohamed Ibn Chambas)表示，过渡期间，尼日尔军事政府将包括所有政治和公民社团在内，恢复宪法秩序。然而，他们并没有给出该过渡期的具体时间。军事政府高级成员Djibrilla Hamidou Hima上校表示，在军事政变中被抓获的总统马马杜·坦贾现在被关押在总统府服务中心，状况很好。

以色列总理内塔尼亚胡宣布了一项有争议的计划，将西岸两个主要的宗教遗址添加至以色列国家遗产名单。希伯伦的“始祖墓穴”(the Cave of the Patriarchs)和伯利恒附近的“拉结墓”(Rachel's Tomb)最初并没有包括在内，但是由于联合政府右翼分子的抗议，内塔尼亚胡改变了主意。此举的反对者表达了失望之情。前巴勒斯坦内阁部长Mustafa Barghouti表示，该决定相当于以色列宣布没有和谈的希望。

“将伯利恒附近的拉结墓(Rachel's Tomb)包括在名单之内纯粹相当于以色列方面横加阻碍，试图吞并土地，阻止了真正和平的任何可能性。这相当于内塔尼亚胡郑重宣布，没有谈判的任何希望，没有和平的任何希望，今天的以色列没有任何和平伙伴。”

来自阿富汗的报道称，美国海军陆战队和阿富汗军队包围了南部城镇Marjah一座塔利班分子堡垒。在接受美国电视台采访时，美国中东和中亚地区最高指挥官David Petraeus将军称塔利班的反应非常强烈，但是非常杂乱。

周六，葡萄牙马德拉岛突发灾难性洪水，已造成40多人死亡。目前，大型的搜救和恢复行动仍在进行。洪水，泥浆和岩石横扫首府丰沙尔和该岛屿其他地区，造成120多人受伤。

该岛经历了多年来最严重的暴风雨的袭击，马德拉搜救队仍然在寻找幸存者和遇难者尸体。暴雨导致山体滑坡，洪水肆虐城市街道，摧毁树木，粉碎了汽车和房屋。当地媒体报道称，南部海岸部分地区仍然被切断，道路被废墟堵塞。相关部门担心岛上发生的山体滑坡夺走了更多的生命。

洪都拉斯政府称，自去年军事政变引发孤立以来，他们现在已经和29个国家恢复了外交关系。外交部长Mario Canahuati表示，自上月末新任总统波菲里奥·洛沃(Porfirio LOBO)宣誓就职以来，德国，法国和邻国危地马拉等国家已经相继与其恢复外交关系。

据称，英国首相布朗一名员工曾联系反欺凌慈善团体，布朗首相办公室作出回应。一名发言人表示，国家反欺凌热线(National Bullying Helpline)从未向唐宁街反应过该指控。报纸曾报道称，自2007年执政以来，布朗首相一直虐待职员。Nick Robinson报道。

为了卖书的记者作出这种指控是一回事；而经营反欺凌热线的人声称直接为首相工作的职员曾联系他们则是另外一回事。当然，布朗首相不会假装容易相处。在最近的几天和几个星期，他承认自己很容易发脾气，对人们大嚷，甚至在沮丧的时候向他们丢东西。然而，他的亲密政治盟友试图为他辩护，称他的行为是充满激情，要求高的表现，他的辩护取得了适得其反的效果。

唱片公司EMI表示，他们相信应该重新获取伦敦Abbey Road录音室的所有权。上周的报道称，EMI计划出售这些录音室来偿还债务。这些录音室因Beatles录制他们的专辑《Abbey Road》而著名。

一名身高仅56厘米的尼泊尔青年前往欧洲参加世界上最矮的人的屏蔽。Khagendra Thapa Magar今年18岁，四年前，他的家人首次向吉尼斯世界纪录提交申请，但是因为未成年，可能继续生长而被拒绝。