NPR 2011-01-18

Tunisia is under the rule of a temporary government established by the interim¹ prime minister today in a bid to end a month of unrest that led to the president's downfall last Friday. Eleanor Beardsley reports that Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi also said the new government would release all political prisoners.

Interim Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi went on national television to tell the Tunisian people who would be part of their new caretaker government. For the first time in 25 years, there were opposition² figures in the cabinet. But many representatives of the temporary government also included members of ousted³ President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's political party. Many Tunisians say that's as if their people's revolution is being stolen. Demonstrators took to the streets earlier in the day, demanding that Ben Ali's ruling party be banned. Even though elections were promised within six months, some demonstrators said they would not accept Ben Ali's party as part of the new coalition⁴. Security forces used water cannons⁵ and tear gas to break up the protest. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Tunis.

An Iranian lawmaker says the sentence of death by hanging has been suspended in the case of a woman originally sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery. The reprieve⁶ was said to be in response to pleas from the woman's children, as NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Istanbul.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani made international headlines when one of her lawyers publicized her stoning sentence for adultery. The lawyer was forced to flee the country. But Iranian authorities suspended the sentence. Ashtiani was then accused of having a role in the murder of her husband, which also carried a death sentence. Iranian state TV and news agencies report that in a letter to the president of Brazil, an Iranian lawmaker said the hanging sentence against Ashtiani had been commuted⁷. According to the letter, she faces ten years in prison. Brazil had offered Ashtiani asylum⁸ last year, an offer that was bluntly rejected by Tehran. Amnesty International says Iran executes more people than any country except for China. Peter Kenyon, NPR News.

Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords is still amazing her doctors barely more than a week after suffering a head wound during the shooting rampage in Tucson. NPR's Jeff Brady reports on the aftermath of two surgeries Giffords had over the weekend: a tracheotomy, and another to repair damage done to her right eye socket⁹.

Doctors say both of the surgeries were successful and they say that within a few hours she was back and conscious and she was back at the baseline that she was at before. So she was opening her eyes periodically. She was interacting with people around her. They are still very positive about the pace of her recovery considering the injury she suffered during the shooting.

That's NPR's Jeff Brady. Giffords has been upgraded to serious condition. Earlier she was listed in critical. And today doctors announced that two more patients injured in the shooting are now listed in good condition.

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At a London news conference today, former Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer gave WikiLeaks two discs said to contain offshore¹⁰ bank details of 2,000 accounts, spanning at least 19 years and three banks. Larry Miller¹¹ reports from London that Elmer has already spent time in prison for leaking similar information and he faces trial on Wednesday again in Switzerland for breaking its banking¹² confidentiality¹³ laws.

Elmer says that as a banker, he has the right to take a stand against the system that permits secret and often illegal activity. He refuses to identify those on the discs but says they include politicians, business leaders, entertainers and multinationals¹⁴ from the US, UK and elsewhere. WikiLeaks founder¹⁵ Julian Assange suggests what might turn up on the discs.

"Tax evasion¹⁶ to hide proceeds of criminal acts to engage in asset protection from people in countries where they are about to fall out of political favor."

WikiLeaks says it won't publish the information until it's verified, and also says that it'll give details to tax and fraud authorities. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

Steve Jobs is again taking a leave of absence to focus on his health. The Apple founder and CEO notified employees today that while he will continue to be involved in major decisions, Tim Cook will be in charge of day-to-day operations. Cook had previously¹⁷ acted as CEO of Apple when Jobs took leave several years ago after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

US markets are closed for this federal holiday.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

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 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

7 commuted   

通勤( commute的过去式和过去分词 )； 减（刑）； 代偿

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. 他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• The death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment. 死刑可能減为无期徒刑。

8 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。

9 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

10 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。

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

12 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

13 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

14 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

15 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。

16 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

17 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。