评论
打印
The world of this week
本周要闻
Politics
政治
Following a poor result for her party at a state election in Hesse, Angela Merkel announced that she will stand down as leader of her Christian Democratic Union in December, when the post is up for biennial election. She said she was willing to remain as Germany’s chancellor until 2021, when elections are scheduled to be called. But she may well not last until then. Her coalition partners, the Social Democrats, also suffered embarrassing losses in Hesse.
安格拉·默克尔(Angela Merkel)所在政党在黑森州选举中表现不佳，随后她宣布，将于12月辞去基督教民主联盟(Christian Democratic Union)领导人的职务，届时该职位将进行两年一次的选举。她表示，愿意在2021年之前继续担任德国总理职务，2021年德国将举行大选。但在那之前，她很可能撑不下去。她的联盟伙伴社会民主党在黑森州也遭遇了尴尬的失利。
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg upheld a decision by an Austrian court to fine a woman who had described Muhammad the Prophet as a paedophile, citing his marriage to a girl said in some accounts to be only six. Blasphemy is still a crime in Austria. Fans of free speech denounced the ruling.
位于斯特拉斯堡的欧洲人权法院维持了奥地利法院的一项判决，即对一名将先知穆罕默德描述为恋童癖的女子处以罚款，该女子称穆罕默德与一名据说年仅6岁的女孩结婚。在奥地利，亵渎神明仍然是一种犯罪行为。而言论自由的支持者谴责这一裁决。
Michael Higgins was re-elected as president of Ireland, a mostly ceremonial role he has held since 2011, with 56% of the vote. On the same day voters also opted to repeal Ireland’s long-standing constitutional ban on blasphemy.
迈克尔·希金斯(Michael Higgins)以56%的得票率连任爱尔兰总统，自2011年以来，他一直担任这一象征性职务。同日，选民还将投票决定是否废除爱尔兰宪法中关于亵渎神明的长期禁令。
Philip Hammond, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, delivered a spend-and-please budget. A surprise windfall from increased tax revenues offered a chance for him to claim an end was in sight to eight years of austerity. Mr Hammond could have paid down more of the country’s debt pile, but instead chose to boost spending in selected government departments (mostly the National Health Service). The generous pledges are contingent on a smooth Brexit in March next year.
英国财政大臣菲利普·哈蒙德(Philip Hammond)提出了一项“支出满意”财政预算。税收增加带来的意外之财让他有机会宣称，8年的紧缩时期即将结束。哈蒙德本可以偿还更多的国家债务，但他选择增加政府部门(主要是国家医疗卫生系统)的开支。不过，这些慷慨的承诺是否兑现取决于明年3月英国能否顺利脱欧。
Turkey’s government announced a series of tax cuts, prompting more concern that it is not serious about fiscal discipline. The lira swooned.
土耳其政府宣布了一系列减税措施，这使外界对政府不重视财政纪律的担心甚嚣尘上。土耳其货币里拉崩溃。
Stop the war coalition
停止战争联盟
America’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, urged the warring parties in Yemen to stop fighting. America is losing patience with Saudi Arabia, an important ally, over its reckless and brutal handling of the war in Yemen, which has left millions at risk of starvation.
美国国务卿迈克·蓬佩奥和国防部长吉姆·马蒂斯敦促也门交战各方停止战斗。美国对其重要盟友沙特阿拉伯逐渐丧失耐心，因为后者对也门战争的鲁莽、野蛮处理方式导致数百万人面临饥饿的危险。
A Turkish prosecutor said that Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist, was strangled to death moments after he entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in a planned killing. The allegation, which contradicts claims made by Saudi Arabia that Mr Khashoggi was accidentally killed in a struggle, will add to pressure on Muhammad bin Salman, the kingdom’s crown prince, to explain the events surrounding the murder.
一名土耳其检察官表示，记者贾马尔·卡舒吉(Jamal Khashoggi)进入沙特驻伊斯坦布尔领事馆后被勒死。该指控与沙特方声称卡舒吉在斗殴中意外死亡的说法相矛盾，这将加大沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨尔曼出面解释谋杀事件的压力。
Another Saudi prince, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, returned to the country from exile in London. Some speculate that he plans to challenge the authority of the crown prince; others that he hopes to reinforce it. As is usual with the cryptic kingdom, no one really has a clue.
另一位流亡英国的沙特亲王艾哈迈德·本·阿卜杜拉阿齐兹(Ahmed bin Abdulaziz)返回沙特。有人猜测，他此番欲挑战王储（萨勒曼）的权威；其他人则猜测他希望巩固王储的权力。正如同这神秘王国一般，没有人掌握真正的内情。
Binyamin Netanyahu made the first state visit by a prime minister of Israel to Oman in 22 years, a clear sign of the Jewish state’s warming relations with Arab countries. The trip raised eyebrows as Oman is close to Iran, Israel’s main rival.
以色列总理本亚明·内塔尼亚胡(Binyamin Netanyahu)对进行阿曼22年来的首次国事访问，这是这一犹太国家与阿拉伯国家关系回暖的明显迹象。由于阿曼与以色列的主要竞争对手伊朗关系密切，此次访问让外界惊讶。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
