9-23-2005

飓风将至数以十万计人逃离德州路州 (Tens of Thousands Flee Texas, Louisiana As Hurricane Approaches)

美国德克萨斯州和路易斯安那州部份地区有数以十万计的居民赶在丽塔飓风登陆之前撤离。德州官员说，星期五一辆载有撤离居民的客车在达拉斯郊外一条拥挤的公路上起火。有多达24名老年人可能已经丧生。

由于交通非常拥挤，德州撤离的居民被困在路上已经有好几个小时。公路上汽油耗尽的车辆到处可见。

Tens of thousands of residents are evacuating parts of Texas and Louisiana as Hurricane Rita barrels toward land. Officials say as many as 24 elderly evacuees may have been killed after their bus caught fire on a congested highway outside Dallas today (Friday).

Evacuees have been stuck for hours in massive traffic jams. Roads are lined with vehicles that have run out of gas.

伊拉克巴士爆炸5人死亡 (Bus Bombing in Iraq Kills 5)

在下个月宪法公投到来之前，伊拉克反叛分子掀起新一波暴力行动。星期五在巴格达一个汽车站引爆自杀炸弹，导致5人死亡。当局表示，在这次城市公交车爆炸中，另有8人受伤。

这次袭击一天前，伊拉克最有影响力的什叶派神职领袖希斯塔尼敦促他的支持者在10月15号的全国公投中投赞成票。

在华盛顿，沙特外交大臣星期四警告说，伊拉克正在走向解体。费萨尔亲王对记者说，他不认为光有选举或宪法就可以使伊拉克人团结起来。他说，如果伊拉克分裂成为什叶派、逊尼派和库尔德人国家，就可能把这一地区的其他国家卷入冲突。

Insurgents pressing a campaign of violence in Iraq ahead of next month's constitutional referendum have killed five more people today (Friday) in a suicide bombing at a Baghdad bus terminal. Authorities say at least eight other people were hurt in the blast on a city bus.

The attack comes a day after Iraq's most influential Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged his supporters to vote "yes" in the October 15th national referendum.

In Washington, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister warned Thursday that Iraq is hurtling toward disintegration. Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters he does not believe elections or a constitution alone will bring Iraqis together. He said if Iraq is split into Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish states, it could drag other countries in the region into the conflict.