英国新闻听力 高盛投资被控涉嫌诈骗（在线收听）

Financial regulators in the United States have accused the investment bank Goldman Sachs of fraud related to the collapse of the American housing market in 2007. The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking civil action against the bank. Michelle Fleury sent this report from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges the bank sold investors a financial product based on subprime mortgages that was designed to lose value. Goldman Sachs has denied the allegations and says it will defend the firm and its reputation. This is the first time that the US government has explicitly accused one of Wall Street's premier institutions of fraud relating to the collapse of the US housing market.

The Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva has put the head of the army in charge of national security as he fights a campaign by opposition protesters demanding that he step down. Mr Abhisit made his decision hours after the security forces publicly failed to arrest leaders of the rallies that have paralyzed parts of the capital Bangkok for weeks. Clashes last week during protests left more than 20 people dead. From Bangkok, here is Rachel Harvey.

The prime minister said he was appointing the head of the armed forces General Anupong to take charge of national security in order to streamline operations. A government spokesman contacted by the BBC said the general would be better able to deal with what he calls the terrorist threat. "He now has the power to make decisions directly," the spokesman said. The move comes amid fevered speculation that the security forces might be planning another operation to evict protesters from the sites they are currently occupying in the commercial heart of Bangkok.

Aviation experts have warned that a drifting cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland will continue to cripple air transport over much of Europe at the weekend. The European air traffic agency said there would be further significant disruption. Britain has extended the closure of much of its airspace until mid-day on Saturday. The International Air Transport Association said the disruption was costing airlines more than 200 million dollars a day.

The number of people known to have died in the earthquake in Northwest China has risen to more than 1,100 with over 400 others still missing. Rescuers fear the figure is likely to rise again. Heavy earth-moving equipment has been used in the search for trapped survivors. In the worst-hit town of Jiegu, a former local official told the BBC that they badly needed supplies.

"The security situation is good in the town. There is no looting or rioting. Security forces are out on patrol. The main priority for us is relief work to rescue people. We urgently need tents and food and drinking water. We urgently need these supplies."

World News from the BBC

A BBC investigation has found that months before a Georgian luger crashed and died during a training session at this year's Vancouver Winter Olympics, several top athletes warned organizers that the luge and bobsleigh tracks were dangerous. Olympic officials initially said the death of the luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was down to human error. Rebecca Kesby reports.

Twenty-one-year-old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed when he crashed on the final bend during training. He was thrown from the track at more than 100 kilometres an hour and collided with a steel pillar. Test athletes in all three of the sliding sports, bobsleigh, skeleton and luge say they told organizers the track was too fast, too difficult and that less experienced athletes would be the most vulnerable to accidents. A spokesman for the International Bobsleigh Federation told the BBC that some changes were made in response to concerns and that safety of athletes was absolutely paramount.

Italy says two of its citizens who were kidnapped last year in Mauritania by al-Qaeda have been freed. The Italian government said the hostages were released after intense diplomacy and were being taken to a safe place.

Reports from Iran say the former President Mohammad Khatami has been barred from leaving the country to attend a nuclear disarmament conference in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Mr Khatami's lawyer has told the BBC that there'd been no legal order, but Mr Khatami had decided not to travel after receiving what he called “official advice” to cancel his trip.

And finally, while volcanic ash from Iceland is causing unprecedented disruption to air travel across Europe, a taxi driver in Moscow has seen it as a business opportunity. He's offering to drive people to any location in Europe for a fare of 1,300 dollars. He said that for a person who really wanted to get somewhere, then that was a reasonable price to ask.

美国金融监管部门指控投资银行高盛投资公司涉嫌诈骗，导致2007年美国房产市场的崩溃。美国证券和交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission，简称“SEC”)正对该公司提起民事诉讼。Michelle Fleury从纽约证券交易所发回报道。

美国证券和交易委员会指控该银行向投资者出售基于次贷抵押的金融产品，这种产品注定会贬值。高盛公司否认了这种指控，称将为自己的公司和声誉辩护。这是美国政府首次明确指控华尔街主要的投资机构涉嫌欺诈导致美国房产市场崩溃。

泰国总理阿披实正在抵抗要求其下台的反对派抗议者的示威活动，他指派军方领袖负责全国安全。反对派集会已经导致首都曼谷的部分地区瘫痪了数周时间，而集会领袖却在众目睽睽之下逃离了安全力量的逮捕。几个小时之后，阿披实作出了该决定。上周抗议过程中爆发冲突，造成20多人死亡。曼谷，Rachel Harvey报道。

阿披实表示，为了提高运作效率，他委派军方领袖Anupong将军负责国家安全问题。BBC采访了一名政府发言人，他表示，这位将军能够更好地应对他所说的“恐怖分子威胁”。“他现在已经拥有了直接做决定的权利，”这名发言人表示。作出该决定的同时，人们猜测，安全力量可能计划另外一场行动，驱逐占领着曼谷商业中心的抗议者。

航空专家警告称，周末期间，欧洲大部分地区仍将受到从冰岛漂浮的火山灰的影响。欧洲航空运输管理机构表示，可能还会出现更加严重的影响。英国已经将关闭大部分领空的期限延长至周六中午。国际航空运输协会表示，这次扰乱将导致航空业每天2亿多美元的损失。

在中国西北部地震中遇难的人数已经上升至1,100人，仍有400多人失踪。救援人员担心该数字还会继续上升。现在已经使用大型推土设备来寻找被困的幸存者。在受灾最严重的结古镇，一名前当地官员告诉BBC，他们现在亟需补给物资。

“这个小镇的安全形势良好。目前还没有出现洗劫或暴动的情况。现在，安全力量正在外面巡逻。目前我们的当务之急是对受灾民众进行救援。我们亟需帐篷，食物和饮用水，亟需这些补给物资。”

BBC世界新闻。

BBC一项调查显示，就在乔治亚一名滑雪选手在温哥华冬奥会训练时撞击死亡之前几个月，已有多名顶尖运动员警告组织者，小雪橇和大雪橇跑道存在危险。奥运会官员最初表示，滑雪选手Nodar Kumaritashvili的死亡是由于人为失误。Rebecca Kesby报道。

21岁的乔治亚滑雪选手Nodar Kumaritashvili训练过程中在经过最后一个弯道时不幸撞击。他以超过每小时100千米的速度被抛出跑道，撞上一个钢铁支柱。三项滑雪项目的试用运动员均表示他们曾告诉组织者，这些跑道太快，太艰难，经验不足的运动员很容易出事故。国际雪橇联会(International Bobsleigh Federation)一名发言人告诉BBC，他们已经应运动员的要求对跑道进行了修改，运动员的安全绝对是最重要的。

意大利表示，去年在毛里塔尼亚被基地组织绑架的两名公民已经获释。意大利政府表示，经过频繁的外交活动之后，两名人质终于获释并被转移到安全的地方。

来自伊朗的报道称，前总统哈塔米被禁止离开伊朗前往日本广岛参加核裁军会议。哈塔米的律师告诉BBC，现在还没有收到合法的命令，但是哈塔米已经决定收到他所说的要求他取消形行程的“官方建议”之后不会旅行。

最后，冰岛的火山灰对整个欧洲的航空运输造成前所未有的影响之时，莫斯科一名的士司机却将这视为商机。他提出以1.300美元的费用载乘客去欧洲任何地方。他说，对于确实想要去某个地方的人来说，这是比较合理的价格。