(单词翻译:单击)
路透社:俄罗斯乌克兰天然气协议陷僵局
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Putin says Ukrainian gas price demands force talks into "dead end."
俄罗斯乌克兰天然气协议陷僵局
Newly elected Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko faces a litany of challenges ahead. There are concerns over the state of the eastern part of the country -- questions over the fate of Crimea and the challenge of keeping the lights on in Kiev.Ukraine and Russia are locked in debate over gas prices. Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk says Russia is making an offer Ukraine must refuse.
新当选的乌克兰总统波罗申科面临一系列挑战。乌克兰东部存在隐患，克里米亚的命运存在问题，以及基辅面临的其他挑战。乌克兰和俄罗斯 目前正陷入关于天然气价格的辩论中。乌克兰总理亚采纽克(Arseny Yatseniuk)表示，乌克兰必须拒绝俄罗斯提议的价格。
(SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER ARSENY YATSENIUK, SAYING: "Russia has offered us a decrease of the gas price by $100 (US Dollars) as a so-called discount. I want to state officially that we are familiar with such Russian traps. The discount is set by the government of the Russian Federation and can be canceled by the decision of the government of the Russian Federation."
乌克兰总理亚采纽克(Arseny Yatseniuk)：“俄罗斯提议天然气价格降低100美元，作为所谓的折扣。我想非常正式地表示，我们对俄罗斯的这种圈套非常熟悉。折扣是由俄罗斯联邦政府设定的，也可以由俄罗斯联邦的决定来取消。”
Yatseniuk says Ukraine is holding out for changes in the contract with Russian exporter Gazprom.
亚采纽克表示，乌克兰正试图改变与俄罗斯出口商天然气工业股份公司(Gazprom)的合同。
(SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER ARSENY YATSENIUK, SAYING: "That is why our offer was, is, and will be the same. We demand changes in the contract. If gas is a political weapon, then it is clear that it is a political weapon in the hands of the Russian government. And if gas is a commodity, as all over the world, then we are trading on the basis of the contract and not on the basis of whether Russia likes or dislikes the Ukrainian government."
乌克兰总理亚采纽克(Arseny Yatseniuk)：“这就是我们的要求。我们要求合同作出变更。如果天然气是政治武器的话，很明显，在俄罗斯政府的手中它就是政治武器。如果天然气像世界各地一样是商品的话，我们将根据合同来交易，而不是根据俄罗斯是否喜欢乌克兰政府。”
Russian President Vladimir Putin does not buy it.
俄罗斯总统普京并不接受。
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "The reduction is too little for our Ukrainian partners.They want more, although it's not clear on what basis. If this is the case, then it seems that the issue is being driven into a dead end."
俄罗斯总统普京：“我们的乌克兰合作者认为降价幅度太小了。他们希望享受更多折扣，尽管并不清楚基于何种依据。如果是这样的话，这笔交易似乎被推入僵局。”
Moscow says Ukraine has stacked up more than $4 billion in debts to Gazprom and must pay off some of that before a new price deal can be reached.
莫斯科方面表示，乌克兰拖欠Gazprom的债务累计已经超过40亿美元，达成新的价格协议之前必须先偿还一部分。
High speed chase of stolen car through Southern California
南加州汽车被盗上演极速追击
The chase was on through Los Alamitos in Southern California Tuesday. A high speed pursuit had police on the tails of a stolen car. After speeding across the 405 freeway through Seal Beach, police finally got their guy east of the 605 freeway.He was cornered with a pitt maneuver in the city of Long Beach, and surrendered without incident.
周二，加利福尼亚南部洛斯阿拉米托斯上演了极速追击。警察全速追击一辆被盗汽车。沿着西尔滩405号高速公路全力追击后，警方最终在605号高速公路东段截获盗车贼。他在长滩市陷入圈套，最终投降。
Congolese troops gather at border after clashes with Rwanda
刚果军队在边境地区集结
Congolese troops take up positions on the border with Rwanda Wednesday in the wake of heavy weapons fire between the two countries. The two countries accuse each other's armies of mounting cross-border raids that led to a rare exchange of attacks. Congo accuses Rwandan forces of sparking an incident in North Kivu province by seizing and later killing a Congolese soldier. Rwanda says its army killed five Congolese troops after they crossed the border and attacked their units. The clash ended months of relative calm in the volatile border zone.
周三，刚果和卢旺达发生激烈交火后，刚果军队在两国边境处修筑据点。两国互相指责对方军队发动了跨越边境的袭击，导致罕见的袭击。刚果指控卢旺达军队在北基伍省挑起事端，俘虏并杀害了一名刚果士兵。卢旺达表示，有5名刚果军人穿越边境袭击他们的部队，被他们击毙。这次冲突结束了动荡的边境地区为期几个月的相对平静。
CCTV9:广西省遭遇暴雨袭击 多人受灾
Heavy rainfall hits south China's Guangxi
广西省遭遇暴雨袭击 多人受灾
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been in the eye of the storm. On Wednesday, a number of cities in the region issued red alerts for rainstorm. The downpours flooded main streets, cutting off traffic and leaving vehicles submerged.
Torrential rains continue to drench southern China. The sudden downpours in the city of Beihai inundated the streets. Water in some areas was 30 inches deep. Cars foolish enough to try their luck on the road were swallowed up by the water.
"When I drove halfway through I found myself trapped. The car was totally overwhelmed by the water. Someone else helped me pull the car out, but the engine was dead. Soon, the tow truck will come to take my car to the repair shop." A Beihai resident said.
The inner city flooding is partly due to the city’s inefficient drainage system. The municipal government is working to repair and upgrade the drainage system. Similar flooding occured in Qinzhou city. In a single day, precipitations exceeded 300 milimeters, the largest amount of rainfall seen in ten years.
Local weather authorities have issued a red alert for rainstorm three times in a row. 300 policemen were mobilized to guide traffic through the city’s inundated streets. High speed bullet trains have meanwhile been ordered to slow down to a sluggish 40 kilometers per hour when passing by the city.
The heavy rains are expected to abate by Friday.
CCTV9:内地游客降低消费 香港零售量下降
Sales drop as mainland visitors ease their spending in HK
内地游客降低消费 香港零售量下降
Hong Kong’s retail sales have seen their sharpest drop in five years, as spending by visitors from the Mainland slows.
Mainland visitors used to come here in droves, packing these jewelry shops to fever pitch, and ringing the tills with thick wads of Chinese Renminbi. Now all that has changed. Mainland tourists, who used to splurge on jewelry and watches, are now spending a lot less on luxuries.
Here in this jewelry store in Wan Chai, Mr. Ngai told us late last April that turnover from Mainland customers dropped 20 to 30 percent, as they bought a lot less over the Easter holidays. Mainland clients account for 30 to 40 percent of his business.
Today, turnover has slipped even further, laments Mr. Ngai.
Hong Kong’s retail sales in April dropped the sharpest in five years, the third month in a row the figures had fallen. The biggest decline was for big-ticket items such as jewelry and watches, with sales plunging almost 40 per cent in April. Shops like these that have relied mainly on visitors from the Mainland for their sales over the past few years are struggling now, with some of them losing about 50 percent of their business since April, as Mainland spending in the city for such luxuries continues to shrink.
The fall in sales of jewelry and watches reflects a change in Mainland tourists’ shopping habits, says Clare Lui of market researcher Ipsos.
"The downturn on the mainland, the slowdown in the growth rate of the number of visitors and the fact that visitors are less inclined to extravagant spending are the main contributing factors to this." said Clare Lui, Executive Director, Ipsos.
While the record drop in retail sales comes as the number of Mainland visitors continues to slow, some economists blame the trend on the anti-corruption drive Beijing launched in 20-12 to curb government spending on luxury gifts.
If the retail sales decline persists, warns Financial Secretary John Tsang, it could affect Hong Kong’s economy and development.
Unlike his rivals in Causeway Bay, majority of Mr. Ngai’s clients are still Hong Kong locals, whom he says are still spending on jewelry. And it’s helping this 40 year-old shop in Wan Chai tide itself over in this latest downturn.
