BBC | 2018-02-13
Hello, I'm Jonathan Izard. Reports from northern Syria say there have been further air attacks by Syrian government forces on rebel-held areas in Idlib province with some sources suggesting that toxic gas was used. Residents and medical staff report the smell of a foul odour as helicopters passed overhead. Our correspondent in Beirut Martin Patience has more details. One doctor told the BBC that helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the town of Saraqeb which has seen some of the fiercest fighting. He said 15 people were brought to hospitals after the suspected chemical attack. They smelt of chlorine he said and were suffering breathing problems and irritation in their eyes. Damascus has denied US allegations that there has been using chemical weapons on opposition forces. The Syria regime is currently fighting to regain control of Idlib province, one of the last major areas still under opposition control.
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Senior figures in the African National Congress are to hold an emergency meeting today to decide the future of President Jacob Zuma who has resisted intense pressure to step down. The Party's popularity has already 【1】waning amid a weakening economy and the claims of corruption surrounding the President. From Johannesburg, Andrew Harding reports. The pressure on Jacob Zuma is growing relentlessly. On Sunday, a small ANC delegation reportedly failed to convince him to step down. Now a larger group is expected to gather in Jahannesburg to discuss his removal and to pave the way for the Party's executive committee to turn a polite request into a formal instruction. President Zuma, already facing substantial corruption charges, has seen his power base collapse after his allies lost control of the ANC in December and the Party's new leader Cyril Ramaphosa promised to tackle high-level corruption.
1【① (VERB) 衰落;减少 If something wanes, it becomes gradually weaker or less, often so that it eventually disappears.】
@Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
The sole surviving suspect from the Jihadist attack in Paris in 2015 has gone on trial in Belgium. Salah Abdeslam engaged in the gun battle with Belgium police while he is hiding in Brussels. He was Europe's most wanted man until his capture four months after the gun and suicide bomb attacks that killed 130 people in Paris. Abdeslam was brought to Belgium overnight from France when he has been held in 【2】solitary confinement. This is the World News from the BBC.
2【① (N-UNCOUNT) 监禁;关押;禁闭 Confinement is the state of being forced to stay in a prison or another place which you cannot leave.】
@years of confinement as a political prisoner 作为政治犯被监禁的岁月
这里是BBC新闻，大家好，我是乔纳森·伊泽德。根据叙利亚北方报道，叙政府对叛军控制的伊德利卜省地区再次发动空袭，有消息人士指出他们使用了毒气。当地居民和医务人员报告称，在直升机飞过头顶时，他们闻到了难闻的气味。请听本台驻贝鲁特记者马丁·帕申斯特带来的报道。一名医生对本台表示称，直升机在萨拉基卜镇投下了桶状炸弹，该地区曾进行过激烈的战斗，他表示称疑似化学袭击过后，15人被送往医院治疗。他说闻到了氯气的味道，而且感到呼吸困难，眼睛感到刺激。美国指责叙政府使用化学武器对抗反叛军，大马士革方面给予否认。叙利亚政府最近正在争夺伊德利卜省的控制权，伊德利卜省也是反对武装控制的最后几个地区之一。
非国大高级官员将要在今天召开一场紧急会议，讨论总统雅各布·祖玛的去留问题，祖玛目前备受下台压力。随着经济不景气，执政党受欢迎度一落千丈，还有关于总统涉嫌贪污指控，以下是安德鲁·哈丁在约翰内斯堡发回的报道。雅各布·祖玛压力日益增大。周日，有报道称小型非国大代表未能劝说他下台。如今，约翰内斯堡有望组成大团体来讨论他的下台，这也是为执政党执行委员会铺平道路，委员会将从之前的礼貌请求变成正式命令。总统祖玛面临大量贪污指控，去年12月，其盟友失去了对非国大的控制权，祖玛的权力基础也就此坍塌，该党新领袖西里尔·拉马福萨承诺将打击高层腐败问题。
2015年，巴黎遭到伊斯兰圣战袭击，唯一一名生还的恐怖分子今天在比利时受审。萨拉赫·阿卜杜勒－萨拉姆在布鲁塞尔躲避之时，曾与比利时警方发生过枪战。巴黎当时发生了枪击和自杀式袭击，造成130人死亡，四个月后他成为了欧洲头号通缉犯。阿卜杜勒－
