VOA慢速英语 IN THE NEWS - US Brings Charges against Accused Soma
时间：2018-12-15 作者：英语课 分类：VOA慢速英语2009年（四）月
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
American government lawyers this week brought criminal charges against a young Somali man in connection with a ship hijacking 1 earlier this month. They say Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse 2 is the only survivor 3 of a hijacking attempt on an American ship off the coast of Somalia on April eighth.
The capture of the Maersk Alabama made news around the world. The four pirates released the ship and its crew. But they took the ship's captain hostage in a small boat. Four days later, American Navy forces killed three of the hijackers and rescued the captain, Richard Phillips.
Agents bring piracy 4 suspect Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, center, to the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 5 in New York City
Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse was flown from Africa to New York City, where he was charged Tuesday with five crimes, including piracy and hostage-taking. A New York federal court judge has ruled that Mister Muse is at least eighteen years old and can be tried as an adult. But his mother has said he is just sixteen years old. That could create a problem for government lawyers seeking the most severe punishment for the accused – spending the rest of his life in prison. International law has less severe punishments for criminals under the age of eighteen.
Confirming Mister Muse's true age is difficult because birth documents are rare in Somalia. The country has not had an effective government for almost twenty years.
The International Maritime 6 Bureau is an organization based in London that studies crimes on the high seas. The organization says the waters off the coast of Somalia, including the Gulf 7 of Aden, are the most dangerous in the world for international shipping 8.
The Bureau says pirates carried out more attacks last year in the area than ever before. However, information gathered for the first three months of this year suggest two thousand nine will be even worse. Pirates have attacked at least sixty-one ships so far, compared to six for the same period last year.
Experts say pirates now control at least seventeen ships and three hundred crew members. The amount of money paid to hijackers is harder to confirm. Researchers believe this year's total is in the tens of millions of dollars.
In recent years the international community has deployed 9 navy ships to guard the area in an effort to fight piracy. Ships from the United States and the European Union are involved in the effort. In addition, Russia, China and India also have ships in the area.
Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke
Somalia's prime minister is calling for a halt to ransom 10 payments to pirates and kidnappers 11. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke says the large amounts being paid are part of the reason for the rise in hijackings. Somalia's weak central government must deal with a deadly rebellion inside the country and is unable to police its waters. Mister Sharmarke says piracy can only be prevented when Somalia has a government that can enforce its own laws.
On Thursday in Brussels, international donors 12 promised more than two hundred fifty million dollars to improve security in Somalia.
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.
- His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
- Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。
- The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
- There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。
- The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
- They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。
- In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
- He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
- Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
- The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。
- The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
- There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
- We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
- There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
- Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
- The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。
- We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
- The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。
- They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》