Gadhafi Son Vows Fight Until Death

 　　One of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's sons told a Syrian television station late Wednesday he is in the suburbs outside Tripoli and that loyalist commanders have told him their men would fight to the death.

　　Seif al-Islam Gadhafi vowed¹ that he and other family members would never surrender and said his father "is fine." He told the pro-Gadhafi al-Rai satellite station in an audio message that morale² among loyalist fighters is high.

　　His defiant³ comments contrasted with those of his brother, Saadi, who told al-Arabiya television he is ready to discuss forming a coalition⁴ government with anti-Gadhafi forces in order to stop the bloodshed. Saadi claimed he was speaking with his father's blessing⁵.

　　Also Wednesday, The New York Times quoted the deputy chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council as saying his commanders believe Mr. Gadhafi is staying in the desert town of Bani Walid, 240 kilometers southeast of Tripoli. Abdul Hafith Ghoga said NTC forces "are waiting to give him a chance to surrender." Ghoga's claim could not be verified.

　　Provisional authorities have given Mr. Gadhafi and his forces until Saturday to surrender.

　　Mr. Gadhafi's foreign minister, Abdelati al-Obeidi, was reported detained in a suburb west of Tripoli.

　　The arrest, announced by a senior anti-Gadhafi commander, was witnessed by a Reuters journalist.

　　Meanwhile, European Union diplomats⁶ say sanctions against several Libyan ports, oil companies and more than a dozen other entities⁷ could be lifted as soon as Friday.

　　The EU's 27 members reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday in an effort to help Libya's National Transitional Council resume normal economic activity. Diplomats say they expect a final agreement on Thursday.

　　France has asked the sanctions committee of the United Nations Security Council to allow Paris to release more than $2 billion of frozen Libyan assets.

　　The committee has already approved similar appeals by Britain and the United States, releasing a total of more than $3 billion in seized Libyan assets to address urgent humanitarian⁸ needs.

　　In Libya, thousands celebrated⁹ the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Tripoli's main square, as provisional authorities pressed for the surrender of forces loyal to Mr. Gadhafi in his hometown of Sirte.

　　Countries participating in the International Contact Group on Libya will meet in Paris Thursday to discuss ways to help Libyans now that the NTC has gained control over most of the country.

　　U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among those who will attend the talks, and officials from Russia and China said Wednesday they also will send envoys¹⁰.

　　Italy announced on Wednesday that it plans to reopen its embassy in Tripoli this week.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

3 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

10 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。