03-31-08

中国国家主席胡锦涛启动奥运火炬接力 (Chinese President Launches Olympic Torch Relay)

中国国家主席胡锦涛星期一在北京天安门举行的仪式上正式宣布启动奥运火炬接力。奥运火炬在严密的保安措施下从希腊抵达北京。在希腊，流亡藏人和人权活动人士星期天曾试图打断一次交接仪式，但是没有成功。

打乱火炬接力的抗议从上星期开始，随着火炬手在8月的夏季奥运会开幕之前跑步穿过全球各地的城市，抗议活动预计还会持续发生。火炬计划途经西藏并抵达埃弗勒斯特峰、也就是珠穆朗玛峰。人权组织要求在北京同意国际组织调查西藏动乱之前，取消这段路程。

Chinese President Hu Jintao officially launched the Olympic torch relay Monday in a ceremony at Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The torch arrived amid tight security from Greece, where Tibetan exiles and human rights activists tried unsuccessfully to disrupt a handover ceremony Sunday. 

Protests that have disrupted the relay since it began last week are expected to continue as runners carry the torch to major cities across the globe in the run-up to the August Summer Games. The torch is set to pass through Tibet on its way to Mt. Everest. Human rights groups are demanding a ban on that part of the journey, until Beijing agrees to permit an international investigation of the Tibetan unrest. 

法公司“保乐力加”收购瑞典的“绝对伏特加酒” (France's Pernod Richard Buys Sweden's Absolut Vodka)

瑞典政府星期一宣布，法国“保乐力加烈酒集团”将以大约90亿美元的价格收购瑞典国有酿酒集团V&S，这家集团以酿造“绝对伏特加酒”著称。目前拥有V&S集团的瑞典政府说，“保乐加力集团”将让V&S集团留在瑞典经营。有关谁将成为瑞典国有酿酒集团新主人的揣测已经持续了几个月，这家集团生产的“绝对伏特加酒”是世界第三大高档烈性酒。瑞典出售国有酿酒集团是为了帮助偿还国债。

The Swedish government has announced Monday that the French liquor group Pernod Ricard is buying Vin and Sprit - the maker of Absolut Vodka - for about nine billion dollars.The Swedish government - which currently owns Vin and Sprit - says Pernod will keep the company in Sweden. The sale ends months of speculation about who would emerge as the new owner of the state-owned company that produces Absolut - the world's third-largest premium liquor. Sweden is selling the company to help pay off the country's debt.