澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2012-08-17

 Britain remains¹ in a diplomatic row with Ecuador over the fate of the Wikileaks' founder² Julia Assange. Ecuador has granted him political asylum³, but Britain says it's obliged to hand him over to Sweden. The British Foreign Office insists it does have the right to enter the embassy to arrest Mr Assange. 

 

 

 

South African police have opened fire on a crowd of several thousand striking workers at a platinum⁴ mine. The number of casualties remains unclear, although witnesses say at least 12 people are dead. The mine, near Johannesburg, has been the centre of a violent pay dispute which began last Friday. 

 

 

 

The Senate last night passed legislation to reinstate offshore⁵ processing of asylum seekers who come by boat. The Greens was the only party to vote against it, criticising the bill for its failure to set time limits on detention⁶. Preparations are already underway to build facilities for asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea and Naru.

 

 

 

And Wallabies are this morning holding their final training session ahead of tomorrow night's rugby test against New Zealand in Sydney. It's the first match of the Bledisloe Rugby Championship which also features South Africa and Argentina. Australia's coach Robbie Deans says winning at home is crucial to his side's chances of claiming the first title.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

4 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

5 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

6 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。