12-21-2005

对萨达姆审判在巴格达重新开庭 (Saddam Trial Resumes in Baghdad)

对前伊拉克独裁者萨达姆.侯赛因的审判星期三在巴格达重新开庭。一名目击者当庭作证，谈到萨达姆个人如何介入1980年代发生的一次屠杀村民事件。对萨达姆及其7名助手被告的审判因伊拉克议会选举休庭了两个星期。

在上一轮庭审期间，这位被推翻的前伊拉克总统拒绝出庭，但是他星期三来到法庭。旁观审判的记者说，这位68岁的被告看上去比前几次出庭时显得要克制一些。

萨达姆和同案被告被指控23年前下令和执行对杜杰勒村的140多名什叶派穆斯林酷刑折磨和屠杀。当地曾是一次刺杀萨达姆未遂事件的发起地。如果被定罪，他们会面临死刑。

当年只有14岁的证人阿里.哈桑.海达里在法庭上描述他本人所目睹情况以及他的家人所经历的惨剧时候，萨达姆一边听，一边做着笔记。

The former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's trial resumed in Baghdad Wednesday, where a witness is testifying about Saddam's personal involvement in a village massacre during the 1980s. Proceedings against Saddam and seven of his lieutenants had a two-week break for Iraq's parliamentary elections.

The ousted Iraqi president had refused to attend the trial's previous session, but he was in court Wednesday. Correspondents watching the trial say the 68-year-old defendant appeared more subdued than he was during previous court appearances.

Saddam and his co-defendants are accused of ordering or carrying out the torture and killing of more than 140 Shi'ite Muslims 23 years ago in the village of Dujail, which was the launching point for an unsuccessful attempt to kill Saddam. If convicted, they could be sentenced to death.

Saddam listened and took notes today as witness Ali Hassan al-Haidari, who was 14 years old at the time of the Dujail massacre, described the carnage that he saw and his family experienced.

纽约公交员工被判罚每日百万 ($1 Million-a-Day Fine for New York Subway Strike)

纽约市一名法官判处罢工的纽约市地铁和公共汽车系统员工每天交罚款100万美元，直到结束非法罢工为止。罢工致使这座美国最大的城市陷入混乱。纽约市公交系统工会说，法官判罚过份，将提出上诉。但是，市政府说，罢工致使纽约的商家和民众每天损失多达4亿美元。

星期二清晨开始的罢工使纽约市的公共交通全面停顿。纽约公共汽车和地铁每天运送的乘客是美国每天所有民航乘客总数的4倍。许多人走路上班，还有些人留在家里。商家担心今年的圣诞和新年节日前的销售会一落千丈。每年这段时间是全年当中生意最兴隆的时节。

A judge in New York has fined striking city subway and bus workers one million dollars a day until they end the illegal work stoppage that has thrown the United States' biggest city into chaos. The transit workers' union says the judge's penalty is excessive and that it will appeal the ruling. The city government, however, says the strike is costing businesses and the people of New York up to 400 million dollars a day.

The walkout early Tuesday shut down all public transit in New York -- a subway and bus network that carries four times as many passengers each day as all the nation's airlines. Many people walked long distances to reach their workplaces, while others remained at home. Merchants are concerned about plummeting sales before the Christmas and New Year holidays -- normally the busiest shopping days of the year.