新概念2第一篇听力原文

It is 15:30 Universal Time. I'm Steve Ember in Washington.



[1] A Nigerian military official says West African military leaders have discussed using force to oust Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo if talks fail. Colonel Muhammad Yerima said defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, met to consider a plan to oust Mr. Gbagbo. But he did not say an attack was about to happen. Instead, he said a followup meeting to finalize the plan will be held in mid-January. Mr. Gbagbo has refused to give up power to his political opponent Alassane Ouattara. Mr. Ouattara is the internationally recognized winner of last month's runoff presidential election. Mr. Gbagbo disputes the results.



[2] Nigerian police say they have arrested 92 suspected members of an Islamist group for a series of attacks this week in the state of Borno. Police say at least one of the group's financial supporters was arrested along with the others. Officials suspect the Boko Haram group of attacks Wednesday that killed five policemen and injured several others. The group has claimed responsibility for the Christmas Eve bombings that killed at least 80 people in the city of Jos. Boko Haram's name in the Hausa language means "Education is forbidden." The group wants severe Islamic law in Nigeria.



[3] In Iraq, funerals are being held for two people killed during bomb attacks Thursday in Bagdad. Reports say the attacks were aimed at the homes of a member of Iraq's Christian minority. Iraqi officials say at least 12 people were wounded. The attacks followed threats by al-Qaeda-linked militants doing Christ violence against Iraqi Christians during the Christmas season. Officials had increased security at Christian religious centers after an attack in October killed 58 people in Baghdad. A group called the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility. Al Arabiya television reports, Bagdad's security chief said militants are attacking the homes of Christians because of increased security forces at religious centers.



[4] The top government lawyer in Iran says opposition leaders will have to face trial for the protests that followed presidential elections last year. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi spoke Friday to people who had gathered for prayers at Tehran University. He also said the United States and Israel played a part in the demonstrations. Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have been active critics of the government since losing the 2009 election to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They say there was a lot of election cheating.



[5] Separately, Iranian media report that a United Nations office has agreed to investigate reports of the death of former Defense Minister Ali Reza Asghari. He disappeared in Turkey in 2007. Iranian officials believe he died in an Israeli prison.



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