12-13-06

瑞士环保人士担心白暨豚已灭绝 (Swiss Conservationist Fears Baiji Dolphin is Extinct)

一名瑞士环保人士说，一个科学家小组没能找到曾经在长江里生活的一种稀有淡水豚，因此几乎可以肯定已经灭绝。致力于保护白暨豚的瑞士环保团体的负责人弗鲁格星期三说，6个星期的考察没有发现白暨豚的踪迹。他宣布白暨豚灭绝，并称之为中国和世界的损失。

弗鲁格承认，长江中可能还有两三只白暨豚，但是它们没有任何存活的机会。由于长江的污染、过度捕捞和航运的影响，长鼻子的白暨豚多年来一直属于濒危物种。据信白暨豚是世界上最古老的淡水哺乳动物之一，已经生存了大约2千5百万年。

A Swiss conservationist says a team of scientists has failed to find a rare freshwater dolphin that once swam in China's Yangtze river, making it almost certain the animal is extinct. August Pfluger, the head of a Swiss environmental group dedicated to saving the baiji dolphin said Wednesday that a six-week expedition found no trace of the species.

He declared the baiji extinct, calling it a loss for China and the world. Pfluger acknowledged there could be a two or three of the dolphins left in the river, but they have no chance of survival. The long-nosed baiji had been critically endangered for years, due to pollution, overfishing and shipping along the Yangtze river. The animal is believed to be among the world's oldest fresh-water mammals, having been around for some 25 million years.

美法院令前安然主管入狱服刑 (U.S. Court Orders Former Enron Executive to Prison)

美国一家上诉法院下令卷入美国历史上最大公司丑闻之一的前安然公司行政主管杰弗里.斯基林立刻入狱服刑24年。法院星期二驳回了杰弗里.斯基林提出的在其就欺诈和同谋定罪上诉期间免于羁押的请求。斯基林将前往明尼苏达州一家低戒备级别的联邦监狱服刑。对他的判决是10月份公布的。

今年53岁的斯基林被指控向投资者隐瞒安然公司经营状况恶化的实情。他被判的刑期是所有卷入丑闻的前安然公司管理人员中最长的。安然在2001年破产时是全美第七大企业。安然的倒闭造成成千上万名雇员失业，而且也导致雇员彻底失去了估计总额为20亿美元的养老金计划。

A U.S. appeals court has ordered former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling to immediately report to prison to begin serving a 24-year sentencefor his role in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history. The court Tuesday denied Jeffrey Skilling's request to remain free while he appeals fraud and conspiracy convictions. He is to report to alow-security federal prison in the U.S. state of Minnesota to begin serving the sentence handed down in October.

The 53-year-old Skilling was charged with hiding Enron's failing financial health from investors. His sentence is the longest handed out to disgraced former Enron executives. Enron was the seventh-largest company in the United States when it collapsed in bankruptcy in 2001. Enron's collapse resulted in thousands of employees losing their jobs and wiped out an estimated two-billion dollars in employees' pension plans.