英国新闻听力 塔利班两名高级头目被击毙(在线收听

European Union transport ministers have agreed to ease some other the restrictions on air travel which were imposed across Europe last week following the spread of volcanic ash from Iceland. After discussions by video conference, the EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas announced the decision to reporters in Brussels.

"New air control measures can come into effect from eight o'clock Tuesday morning. From tomorrow morning on, we should see progressively more planes start to fly and this is good news for Europe's stranded passengers, good news for airline industry and other sectors of this economy hard hit by this crisis."

In an effort to ensure safety, the EU wants to create three designated fly zones. One will remain entirely off limits because of the threat of volcanic dust; another will be open to all aircraft, while a third zone will be available for a limited service. In Germany, the two main airlines, Lufthansa and Air Berlin, were granted exemptions from the existing fly ban to allow them to bring home stranded passengers. A Lufthansa spokesman said they were expected to carry a total of about 15,000 people from the Far East, Africa and the Americas. Britain has announced that it's sending warships to help bring home British travelers.

The American military in Iraq has confirmed that the two most wanted al-Qaeda leaders in the country have been killed. The Iraqi government named them as Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. The Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said their identities had been confirmed by medical tests on the bodies. The two men were reportedly tracked down by an intelligence team west of Baghdad and their hideout destroyed by missiles. The US Vice President Joe Biden said the deaths showed that Iraq was now better able to look after its own security.

"Their deaths are potentially devastating blows to al-Qaeda Iraq, but equally important, in my view, is this action demonstrates the improved security strength and capacity of Iraqi security forces. In short, the Iraqis have taken the lead in securing Iraq and its citizens by taking out both of these individuals."

Officials in Pakistan say at least 23 people were killed when a suicide bomb exploded in a crowded market in Peshawar. Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad.

The explosion happened close to a police station, in what's called the Storytellers' Bazaar, an historic market place in the central Peshawar that was packed with shoppers and also a large crowd protesting against the frequent power cuts in the city. One of Peshawar's senior most police officers was among those killed. It is Taliban militants who'd be suspected of carrying out the attack. They’ve recently come under increasing pressure across Northwest Pakistan, for Pakistani military carries out operations against them.

World News from the BBC

The Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said Israel must recognize that the world will not accept Israeli rule over Palestinians for decades to come. He also warned of growing alienation between Israel and its long-standing ally, the United States. Mr Barak's warning comes at the time of growing criticism of the right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pope Benedict has invited the world's 400,000 Catholic priests to Rome in June to show their support for him over what, the Vatican says, are unjust attacks on his policies concerning pedophilia crimes. The invitation was contained in a letter from Cardinal Claudio Hummes. In the letter, the cardinal says the presence of so many priests in St Peter's Square will be a good way to show that they haven't been intimidated, as he put it, by the crimes committed by a few of their fellow clergy.

A team of Sherpas in Nepal have announced that they will go on a clean-up expedition on Mount Everest. It's the first time that Mount Everest is to be cleaned above the altitude of 8,000 metres, an area which is called the "death zone" because of the low level of oxygen and treacherous conditions. Joanna Jolly reports.

The team of 20 Sherpa mountaineers will set off on May 1 to establish camp at the point known as Everest's South Col. From here, they plan to start their cleaning operation, including removing at least two bodies from a narrow trail between the South Col and the summit. The Sherpas, many of whom have climbed Everest several times, say they also plan to remove 3,000 kilogrammes of empty oxygen bottles, old food wrappings, tents and ropes.

A folk singing Cuban scientist has won a prestigious environmental prize in the United States for challenging the role of state bureaucrats in Cuban agriculture. Humberto Rios has promoted traditional techniques of cultivation and the right of farmers to choose which seeds to plant, in a country where 80% of farms are controlled by the state.

上周,冰岛火山喷发造成火山灰弥漫,欧盟对航空运输实施了禁令。现在,欧盟各国运输部长们同意解除部分禁令。召开视频会议进行讨论后,欧盟运输专员Siim Kallas在布鲁塞尔向记者宣布了该决定。

“从周二早上八点钟开始,新的航空管制措施将开始生效。从明天早上开始,我们将看到更多飞机开始飞行,对欧洲滞留的旅客来说这是好消息,对航空行业以及在这场危机中遭受重创的其他经济部门来说也是好消息。”

为了确保安全,欧盟希望设立三个特定的飞行区域。第一个,由于火山灰的威胁仍将完全关闭。第二个将对所有的飞机开放。第三个则提供有限的服务。在德国,两大主要航空公司汉莎航空和柏林航空获准排除在现在的飞行禁令之外,允许他们运送滞留旅客回家。汉莎航空一名发言人表示,预期他们将从远东,非洲和美国运送15,000名乘客。英国已经宣布,他们已经派遣军舰将海外滞留的英国乘客接回国内。

美国驻伊拉克军方已经证实,两名处于通缉名单首位的基地组织领袖被击毙。伊拉克政府称他们为马斯里(Abu Ayyub al-Masri)和巴格达迪(Abu Omar al-Baghdadi)。伊拉克总理马利基表示,经过对尸体的医学测试,这两人的身份均已确认。据报道,这两名男子被巴格达西部一个情报小组跟踪,藏身之处被导弹炸毁。美国副总统乔·拜登表示,两名恐怖分子头目的死亡表明,伊拉克现在已经可以更好的保卫自己国家的安全。

“他们的死亡是对伊拉克基地组织毁灭性的打击,但是同样重要的是,按照我的观点,这次行动表明伊拉克安全力量的能力已经改善。总之,通过将这两人击毙,伊拉克人在保卫伊拉克和伊拉克公民方面树立了榜样。”

巴基斯坦官员表示,一名自杀式爆炸这在白沙瓦闹市引爆炸弹,造成至少23人死亡。Aleem Maqbool在伊斯兰堡报道。

这次爆炸事件发生在警察局附近的一个集市上,这是白沙瓦中部一个历史性的市场,购物者熙熙攘攘,同样还有很多人在抗议最近该市经常停电的现象。白沙瓦一名最高级的警官也在遇难者的行列。有关部门怀疑是塔利班好战分子实施了这次袭击。最近他在巴基斯坦西北部面临越来越大的压力,因为巴基斯坦军方对他们展开了行动。

BBC世界新闻。

以色列国防部长Ehud Barak表示,以色列必须认识到,未来的几十年,世界不会接受以色列对巴勒斯坦人的统治。他还警告称,以色列和长期盟国美国之间的关系越来越疏远。Barak的警告来自对右翼总理内塔尼亚胡的批评愈演愈烈的时候。

梵蒂冈称,在神父恋童癖事件中人们对教皇的攻击是不公平的,教皇本笃邀请全世界400,000名天主教神父在六月份前往罗马表达对他的支持。该邀请列在红衣主教Claudio Hummes的一封信中。在信中,红衣主教表示,如此多的神父出现在圣彼得大教堂可以更好的表达他们没有被少数牧师犯下的罪行所恐吓。

尼泊尔一些雪尔帕人宣布他们将对埃佛勒斯峰进行一次清洁探险。这是埃佛勒斯峰8,000米以上的高度首次接受清洁,由于氧气稀少,环境恶劣,该地区被称为“死亡区域”。Joanna Jolly报道。

由20名雪尔帕登山者组成的小组将于5月日启程,在Everest's South Col扎营。他们计划从这里开始进行清理活动,包括从South Col和顶峰之间狭窄的小路上清除至少两具尸体。这些雪尔帕人中的许多已经都多次攀登埃佛勒斯峰。他们说,他们还计划清除大约3,000千克空的氧气瓶,旧食物包装,帐篷的绳子。

关于古巴科学家的一首民歌在美国获得了享誉声望的大奖,因为他挑战了古巴农业方面的官僚作风。Humberto Rios促进了传统的耕作方法和农民选择种子的权利。而在古巴,80%的农田是属于国家所有的。

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