英国新闻听力 火星表面存在液态水（在线收听）

President Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have met in New York opening their discussions on Syria and Ukraine with a stony face handshake. US officials said they agreed to explore a political solution to the crisis in Syria. President Putin said the meeting had been surprisingly frank. From New York, Barbara Plett Usher has more details. Mr. Putin said Russia was thinking about how to further strengthen the Syrian army. He ruled out Russian ground forces, but not airstrikes, as long as they respected international norms, such as the request from the country's government, he said, unlike the strikes carried out by the US-led coalition. A US official said the two men decided to direct the militaries to talk about how to avoid conflicts between potential operations in Syria. They also agreed to explore options for a political solution, said the official, but still disagreed on the main sticking point,the future of the president Bashar al-Assad.

Four British citizens who have gone to Syria to join the Islamic State group are to face international sanctions up to a request of their own government. The four described as notorious foreign fighters will subject to global travel bans and asset freezes. Here is Carole Walker. The list includes Sally-Annes Jones from Chatham in Kent, who left her two young sons to travel to Syria with her husband. And Aqsa Mahmood, a former Glasgow University student who is believed to have recruited other women to the IS cause. The other two are Abu-Saidal-Britani and Nasser Muthana. A government official said the Prime Minister believes the sanctions were a powerful tool sending a clear message to those thinking of going to join IS extremists.

NASA has obtained the clearest evidence that water flows on Mars raising the possibility that the planet could be home to primitive life. Images captured by the Mars reconnaissance orbiter suggested gullies on its surface were formed by salty water. Doctor Robert Zubin is president of the international Mars Society. It’s liquid water, not fresh water or salt water, but not a little bit of it in one place, and their discovering this is a widespread phenomenon that it has presence of liquid water on the surface of Mars and undoubtedly a large aquifer underground as well. So this greatly supports the motivation for the scientific exploration of Mars because everywhere on earth with this liquid water, we found life.

Christian militia men have attacked the main jail in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Public, freeing hundreds of prisoners. The breakout came during an upsurge in violence between Christians and Muslims. French and UN peace keeping troops are trying to restore order.

The military in Burkina Faso say members of the presidential guard that staged a short live coup earlier this month are refusing to lay down their weapons.Under a peace deal brokered last week, the army agreed to withdraw from the capital while the presidential guards were supposed to be disarmed. World news from the BBC.

The Taliban in Afghanistan have captured a major city for the first time since the US-led invasion in 2001. Hundreds of fighters stormed Konduz in the multi pronged assault. Jonny Dymond reports. Taliban fighters attacked Konduz from three directions. After the initial assault, one resident says that they were told the battle was over. But by later afternoon, the Taliban banner was flying in the city’s main square. A spokesman said that they had taken the governor’s house and were marching on the airport. The Afghan government is sending reinforcements. But if Taliban dig in, they will be difficult to dislodge.

The Cuban leader Raul Castro and president Obama have both called for an end to US economic sanctions on Havana. Speaking at the United Nations, President Castro said a full normalization of relations with the United States could only be achieved if, what he called, the economic blockade against Cuba was lifted. Speaking to the same gathering just hours before, President Obama expressed the confidence the US congress would lift the embargo.

The Japanese firm Hitachi has agreed to pay 19 million dollars to settle charges by US regulators that it made improper payments to South Africa's governing party, the African national Congress. The US Security and Exchange Commission says Hitachi paid millions of dollars to a front company for the ANC to secure contracts to build two power plants. Hitachi has refused to admit or deny the allegations, but power station contracts became a huge scandal in South Africa five years ago.

Surgeons in London have used human embryonic stem cells in a pioneering attempt to cure blindness. Cells derived from a donated early embryo were implanted into the retainer of the 60 year-old woman with age related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the UK. Initial results on whether any vision has been restored should be available by the end of the year. BBC news.

总统奥巴马与俄罗斯总统普京在纽约举行了会晤，双方就叙利亚和乌克兰问题展开了讨论，两人在握手时面无表情。美国官方称，两国同意就叙利亚危机寻求政治和解。总统普京表明，此次会晤坦诚不公，着实让人惊讶。请听普莱特·乌谢尔为您从纽约发回的报道。普京表示，俄罗斯正在就如何加强叙利亚军事实力而进行磋商。他排除了派遣地面部队的可能，只要他们遵守国际准则，例如在叙利亚政府的要求下，我们也会给予实施空中打击的考虑，我们所采取的行动绝对不会像是美国所主导的联盟那样。一名美国官员表明，两国领导人决定就如何避免叙利亚争端等军事问题展开了讨论。双方还对政治和解展开了讨论，然而，就阿萨德政权这一关键问题仍然存在分歧。

受英国政府提请，四名前往叙利亚，效忠“伊斯兰国”极端组织的英国公民将面临国际制裁。这4人被人们描述为万恶的“国际战士”，并将对他们实施旅行禁令与财产冻结。请听卡萝尔·沃克的报道。名单包括肯特郡查塔姆的琼斯，她遗弃了两个儿子，与丈夫逃往叙利亚。格拉斯哥大学学生马穆德，她还招收女性加入组织。另两名为胡赛因和穆坦那。政府官员表示称，首相认为此次制裁措施将为那些希望加入“伊斯兰国”极端组织的民众传达信息。

美国国家航空航天局确认在火星发现液态水，这也增加了火星存在原始生命的可能性。火星探测器所拍摄的照片表明，火星上的沟壑是盐水流经所形成的。国际火星社区主席罗伯特·祖斌。这是液态水，不是淡水或是咸水，这些液态水一定是滔滔江河，火星表面的液态水一定是普遍现象，下面一定存在地下蓄水层。这将大大提高人们对火星的科学探索，因为在地球，凡是存在液态水的地方就存在生命。

在中非共和国首都班吉，基督教民兵组织袭击了一处主要监狱，数百名逃犯越狱。此次越狱的起因是由于基督教和伊斯兰教冲突不断升级所致。法国和联合国维和部队正在试图恢复秩序。

布基纳法索军方称，本月初发起政变的许多总统卫队成员拒绝投降。上周双方达成和平协议，军方同意撤出首都，而总统卫队本应解除武装。BBC全球新闻。

这是即2001年美国入侵阿富汗以来，塔利班武装首次攻占省会城市。数百名武装分子从多个方面对昆都士进行进攻。请听乔尼·戴蒙德的报道。塔利班武装从三个方向向昆都士进行进攻。首次袭击之后，有居民称他们被告知战争结束了。然而就在下午，塔利班标语再次在昆都士的主要广场飘扬。发言人称，塔利班已经攻占了省政府，并正在向飞机场行进。阿富汗政府正在派遣增援部队。然而，如果塔利班在这里站稳脚跟，再想将他们驱逐将难上加难。

古拉领导人劳尔·卡斯特罗以及总统奥巴马都呼吁停止对古巴实施经济制裁。在联大会议上，总统卡斯特罗表示，只有取消对古巴的经济封锁，双边关系才能够真正实现正常化。就在几个小时前，同样在联大会议上，总统奥巴马表示了对国会取消贸易禁令的信心。

日本日立公司同意支付1900万美金达成和解，日立遭到美国监管部门指控，称日立向南非执政党，非洲国民大会进行“不正当支付”。美国证券交易委员会称，日立曾向一家非国大的“挂牌公司”支付数百万美金来换取建造发电站的合同。日立既没有承认也没有否认上述指控，然而就在5年前，发电站问题已经成为了南非一大丑闻。

伦敦外科医生利用人类胚胎干细胞治愈失明。医生将胚胎干细胞移植到了一名患有老年黄斑变性的60岁女性患者体内，在英国，该疾病也是导致失明最为常见的病因。患者的视力恢复情况需要在今年年底才能揭晓。BBC新闻。